Rajaratnam and Dhanu), is widely believed to have been a LTTE member. Kalaivani was a cousin of Shivarasan, the supposed mastermind of the assassination. Kalaivani wore the belt bomb with the explosive material in her lower back region and the power pack, two switches and the circuitry in front. When Santosh Sivan, a well-known cinematographer, wanted to make a film on terrorism and about a terrorist, he chose the above events as the inspiration for his story. The film is not a direct biography of Kalaivani Rajaratnam, as she had a whole troupe working with her, as backup in case she failed. Also, she was not pregnant at the time of the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Awards Won 1998 - National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil - The Terrorist 1998 - National Film Award for Best Editing - The Terrorist 1998 - Cairo International Film Festival- Best Director - Santosh Sivan 1998 - Cairo International Film Festival- Golden Pyramid For Best film - The Terrorist 1998 - Cairo International Film Festival- Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress - Ayesha Dharker 1998 - Sundance Film Festival - Best Film - The Terrorist 1998 - Toronto International Film Festival - Emerging Master - Santosh Sivan 1999 - Cinemanila International Film Festival - Grand Jury Prize - Santosh Sivan 1999 - Cinemanila International Film Festival - Lino Brocka Award for Best Film - Santosh Sivan 2000 - Ale Kino International Young Audience Film Festival - Poznan Goat for Best Director - Santosh Sivan 2000 - Sarajevo Film Festival - Panorama Jury Prize for Honorable Mention - Santosh Sivan Nominated 1998 - National Film Award for Best Actress - Best Actress - Ayesha Dharker 2001 - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film Further reading Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism by Robert Pape, Random House (24 May 2005), https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169302/plotsummary Thompson, Kristin, and David Bordwell. Film History, An Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2010. 624. Print. See also Rajiv Gandhi assassination in popular culture Footnotes http://apm.asianfilmmarket.org/eng/database/view_ppp_history.asp?order_year=2007&idx=256&no=4 http://www.santoshsivan.com/html/eng_john.htm A.O., Scott. "The Terrorist (1998)" New York Times. (2011) The Terrorist full credits at IMDb, Thompson, Kristin, and David Bordwell. Film History, An Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2010. 624. Print. References External links Official Website Santosh Sivan on low budget filmmaking How John Malkovich God-Fathered Sivan's The Terrorist Interim Report of the Jain Commission of