| Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru | |
| Director: | H. Vinoth |
| Producer: | S. R. Prakashbabu S. R. Prabhu |
| Based On: | Operation Bawaria |
| Starring: | Karthi Rakul Preet Singh Abhimanyu Singh |
| Music: | Ghibran |
| Cinematography: | Sathyan Sooryan |
| Editing: | T. Shivanandeeswaran |
| Studio: | Dream Warrior Pictures |
| Distributor: | Reliance Entertainment |
| Runtime: | 163 minutes |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Tamil |
Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru or simply Theeran is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film[1] [2] written and directed by H. Vinoth and produced by S. R. Prakashbabu and S. R. Prabhu under the banner Dream Warrior Pictures. Based on the incidents from the Operation Bawaria case, it depicts the nefarious activity of dacoits and its eventual containment with the Tamil Nadu Police squad headlined by DGP S. R. Jangid. The film stars Karthi, in the titular character Theeran, modelled on Jangid, alongside Rakul Preet Singh and Abhimanyu Singh, who plays the main antagonist.
Vinoth had planned for the script based on the incident even before his debut film Sathuranga Vettai (2014), but he later worked on the project in late-2014. To research further, he had met many police officers who handled similar cases. Following an official announcement in December 2016, principal photography commenced in January 2017 and ended that July. Filming took place in many real locations across Chennai and North India, in order to capture the authenticity of the film and has been shot in locations where the incident happened. The film's cinematography was handled by Sathyan Sooryan and the editing was done by Sivanandeeswaran. Ghibran composed the soundtrack and the film score.
The film, distributed and co-produced by Reliance Entertainment, was released worldwide on 17 November 2017 and opened to critical acclaim, praising the direction, writing, cinematography, soundtrack, musical score, and the cast performances—especially that of Karthi. The authenticity of capturing the incidents, along with the realistic portrayal of the Tamil Nadu Police in fiction was highlighted and praised by critics. It was a commercial success, grossing 96 crore. In addition, the film won the Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, Techofes Awards, two Edison and Vijay Awards, each. It received three nominations at the South Indian International Movie Awards and five Filmfare Awards; the film's only win was Critics Best Actor – Tamil for Karthi. A sequel to the film was announced in November 2023.
Sasi, who is the cop in charge, orders that the documented criminal cases in the form of manuscripts be converted into digital format. During this process, he comes across a really spine-chilling dacoity murder case from several years ago. After reading the case history, he calls up the police officer who had taken charge of the case, Theeran Thirumaran.
1995: Theeran is in his police training college, who is undergoing training to be posted as DSP from T.N.P.S.C exams. Theeran tops the training period and returns to his hometown of Tanjavur, where he falls in love with his new neighbor Sripriya alias Priya, and the two happily get married. Simultaneously, a group of dacoits wrecks a house, situated along the highway of Tamil Nadu, where they barge and kill all the people inside gruesomely and takes their belongings. Later, Theeran becomes known in the police department for his ways of handling various cases, and is later moved to Ponneri after a dacoital attack. Police Inspector Satya and Theeran both handle the case but lead nowhere with the case.
2003: Theeran, Sathya, and a group of other cops go around India to see if they are able to identify the fingerprints of the dacoits. During this process, Theeran learns that these dacoits are actually tribe members of the left over cultural groups after the Indian Independence. They are eventually stopped by the carelessness of their superior officers, and the case is put on hold. Later, the dacoits raid the house of the ruling party's MLA and kill him. The government is under heavy pressure from the public, and the Home Minister gives Theeran all powers and a full team to nab the dacoits.
2004: Theeran and his team find one fingerprint match in Uttar Pradesh prison and go to a lorry station to capture the dacoit. Learning that the lorry has left and it is heading to Ponneri, Theeran and the other officers rush to stop them. The dacoits raid Sathya's house where they kill his wife, but Sathya's daughter is saved and Priya is put in a coma. Angered by this incident, Theeran, with the help of higher officials, puts together a team to capture the gang of dacoits leads by Oma. They camp in Rajasthan with the help of a local police officer. They also learn that the gang members except Oma are in their village, so they visit the village, only to be sent out by the villagers.
While the case is going on, Theeran learns that Priya has died, which fuels his anger, and her death makes him even more motivated to find Oma. The team learns that there is a way to bring Oma out from his village. Theeran captures the organizer of the gang and one of the gang members and puts them in police custody. Infuriated, Oma vows to kill Theeran and his team. Theeran receives information that Oma will be on a train which is infiltrated by the team. Oma's right-hand man Khali manages to beat the cops that attempt to capture Oma. Theeran manages to arrive, but Oma pulls the chain and he, Khali, and friend Bhora escapes. A local shepherd offers Theeran and his team a stay at his village.
Theeran and his team walk to the village and reside there for the night. Oma's gang infiltrates the village using the hunting tactics of wolves. Theeran formulates a plan and manages to kill all of them except Oma and Khali. Oma sets the village on fire and escapes with Khali. However, on their way out, Theeran shoots Khali dead. Theeran chases Oma the whole night and catches up with him. After a prolonged fight Theeran knocks out Oma and drags him back to Tamil Nadu to be sentenced.
2017: It is revealed that Theeran has a boring, useless post in the Traffic vigilance department because he is straightforward and lives alone. Theeran is visited by Sathya, Sathya's daughter, and Sasi, who being impressed by his work and history, salutes him in glory.
Following the success of his first film Sathuranga Vettai (2014), director H. Vinoth was keen to make a sequel to the film starring either Suriya or Ajith Kumar, but their reluctance meant that he moved on to work on a different project based on the Operation Bawaria case.[3] He stated that he had the idea of making a film on the case before he made Sathuranga Vettai but had forgotten about it until he opened a food parcel, which was coincidentally covered with a newspaper article narrating the events of the operation and the incident subsequently inspired him to work on the script.[4] [5] Initially, planned as a road-trip film, the script was later evolved into a full-fledged police story revolving around the entire timelines of the operation and the events happened. As a part of his research, Vinoth met a top-rung police officer with the help of his close friend, as a part of his research and had met nearly hundred officials who handled similar cases.