Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru () or simply Theeran is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film 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 the 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 editing done by Sivanandeeswaran. Ghibran composed the soundtrack and film score.
The film, distributed and co-produced by Reliance Entertainment, released worldwide on 17 November 2017. The film 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 Tamil Nadu Police in fiction was highlighted and praised by critics. As per source it was a box-office success, grossing 96 crore In addition, the film won an Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards and 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 Best Tamil Actor (Critics) for Karthi. Film Companion ranked the film as one of the '25 Greatest Tamil Films of the Decade' and Karthi's performance among '100 Greatest Performances of the Decade'.
On October 2023, a sequel was announced.
Plot
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.