his movies was also missing here"; and concluded Kuruthipunal is "like an American action movie made in Tamil". On 19 November, Ananda Vikatan said the film was attempting to turn Tamil cinema, which was quickly moving in the direction of masala entertainers, by bringing in a different screenplay. The reviewer noted though it would not fulfill the needs of ordinary people, it is a wonderful film, and rated it 45 out of 100. Bhawana Somaaya, the then editor of the G magazine, said Kuruthipunal "proved a chilling experience. Violent, but realistic in the context of what is happening today." Nihalani called the film better than Drohkaal. Accolades Kuruthipunal won the Cinema Express Award for Best Film – Tamil and Kamal Haasan won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. The film was India's official entry for the 68th Academy Awards in the category Best Foreign Language Film but was not nominated. Legacy Kuruthipunal attained cult status in Tamil cinema, and has been recognised by many to have set standards for other action films of the period. Many filmmakers, including Gautham Vasudev Menon and AR Murugadoss, have cited Kuruthipunal as an influence on their works. Certain dialogues from the film such as "Veeramna enna theriyuma, payam illatha mathiri nadikkarathuthan" (Do you know what bravery is? It is to act as if you know no fear); "Delay, disable and disintegrate"; and "Shoot me ... shoot me, my man. It's a bloody order!"; attained popularity. Actor Venkatesh Prabhu adopted the screen name Dhanush after being inspired by the covert operation in Kuruthipunal. See also List of submissions to the 68th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film Notes References Bibliography External links 1990s spy thriller films 1990s Tamil-language films 1990s Telugu-language films 1995 action thriller films 1995 films Fictional portrayals of the Tamil Nadu Police Films about terrorism in India Films with screenplays by Kamal Haasan Indian action thriller films Indian police films Indian spy thriller films Tamil remakes of Hindi films Telugu remakes of Hindi films