Dasavatharam (2008)

Dasavathaaram (English: The Ten Avatars) is a 2008 Indian Tamil science fiction disaster film, directed by K. S. Ravikumar. It stars Kamal Haasan, who also wrote the screenplay and story of the film, in ten distinct roles. Asin appears in two roles and Mallika Sherawat plays a subsidiary role. The film, which had been under production for nearly three years, was produced and primarily distributed by Venu Ravichandran. Primary filming locations included the United States and across Tamil Nadu in India. The soundtrack to the film was composed by Himesh Reshammiya and the background score was by Devi Sri Prasad.

The plot of the film revolves around bringing together the lives of several individuals beginning with the 12th century and ending with the 21st century; the main person being a research scientist who develops a bio-weapon and makes sure that it is not acquired by a group of terrorists. Several other people also get involved in the process and all their stories connect after the striking of a tsunami, thus bringing in philosophical views into the picture.

After delays in post-production, the film was released worldwide on 13 June 2008 in around 1300 prints worldwide including a dubbed version in Telugu. The aspects of the visual effects and the performances of the cast were appreciated while the music was unanimously criticized. A Hindi dubbed version, Dashavtar was released almost a year later.

Synopsis

Bio-scientist Govindarajan Ramaswamy speaks at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium about chaos theory and the butterfly effect. He begins by reciting events from the 15th century in Chidambaram, when King Kulothunga Chola II, a Saivite, persecutes Vaishnavites and intends to destroy an idol of Govindaraja. Rangarajan Nambi, a Vaishnavite, protects it and offends the king, who orders Rangarajan to be executed by being submerged into the sea with the idol, succeeding.

Actors