The Duo

Iruvar is a 1997 Indian Tamil political drama film co-written, directed and produced by Mani Ratnam. The film is loosely based on the relationship between cinema and politics in Tamil Nadu, features Mohanlal in the lead role along with Prakash Raj, Aishwarya Rai, Tabu, Gouthami, Revathi and Nassar in pivotal roles. Rai, a former Miss World, made her screen debut through this film in dual characters. The film had a very successful music and acclaimed background score composed by A. R. Rahman and the cinematography was by Santosh Sivan. It was dubbed into Telugu as Iddaru and in Malayalam in the same name. The film was showcased in the Masters section at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was a critical success and won the Best Film award at the Belgrade International Film Festival and two National Film Awards. In 2012, Iruvar was included by critic Rachel Dwyer in the 2012 British Film Institute Sight and Sound 1000 greatest films of all time which is considered to be one of the most respected film polls all over the world.