Kuruthipunal () is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed and filmed by P. C. Sreeram, and co-produced and written by Kamal Haasan. The film, which stars Haasan, Arjun, Nassar, Gautami and Geetha, is a remake of the Hindi film Drohkaal (1994), and revolves around two police officers seeking to curb a terrorist group. Alongside the Tamil version, a Telugu-language version titled Drohi () was filmed at the same time. Kuruthipunal was co-produced by Haasan's brother Chandrahasan. Mahesh composed the score and the film was edited by N. P. Sathish. Kuruthipunal was the first Indian film to use Dolby Stereo surround SR technology. Kuruthipunal was released on 23 October 1995, Diwali day, and Drohi on 7 July 1996. The former was a critical and commercial success, and won the Cinema Express Award for Best Film – Tamil while Kamal Haasan won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. It was India's official entry for the 68th Academy Awards under the category Best Foreign Language Film but was not nominated. The film attained cult status in Tamil cinema, and has been recognised by many to have set standards for other action films of the period. Plot Police officers Adhi Narayanan and Abbas devise a plan to take down a terrorist group; they send undercover officers Anand and Shiva on "Operation Dhanush". The objective is to infiltrate a terrorist group headed by the Naxalite Badri and relay information back to Abbas. After a year of the operation, Anand is caught and commits suicide before he can be interrogated. With the information relayed by Anand, Abbas and Adhi know the terrorists are picking up someone important and are going to Tiruchirappalli. Abbas tightens security at the railway station while Adhi calls his wife from a public telephone booth. Adhi sees some suspicious activity and tries to investigate but a sound from his radio alerts the terrorist and a shootout follows. Adhi wounds a terrorist and Adhi stops another from fleeing by shooting at the car's tyre. The wounded terrorist enters the railway station but is shot dead by Abbas and the car driver is taken into custody. Adhi asks the driver for information on Badri. The driver maintains his innocence but Adhi is convinced the driver holds a mid-level position in the terrorist organisation. The terrorists plan to assassinate a central-government minister who is visiting the city. A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG)