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Thiruda Thiruda (1993)

Mani Ratnam

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  • Release Date13/11/1993
  • GenreAdventure Comedy
  • FormatColour
  • LanguageTamil
  • Run Time169 min
  • Length4649 meters
  • Number of Reels16
  • Gauge35 mm
  • Censor RatingU
  • Censor Certificate Number90860
  • Certificate Date08/11/1993
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Underworld gangster Vikram (Salim Ghouse) living in London masterminds a train robbery of Rs.1,000 crores of Indian currency when being transported from the Reserve Bank of India Security Press, Nasik. The container carrying the notes is snipped off from the train by Vikram's henchman Ashok (Ajay Rathinam). Since the Parliament session is going to commence soon, the Finance Minister tells the CBI Chief Laxminarayanan (S. P. Balasubramanyam) to quickly track down the money. 

Ashok sends the access card of the currency container to Chandralekha (Anu Agarwal), a pop star in Goa. Lakshminarayanan arrests Ashok and demands information about the money, about SKF 1138 (the last code was written by Ashok), and about Chandralekha. Lakshminarayanan then meets Chandralekha and interrogates, but she feigns ignorance and escapes smartly. 

Azhagu (Prashanth) and Kadhir (Anand) are petty thieves wanted by Police inspector Santosham (Malaysia Vasudevan). While stealing in a house, Azhagu saves Raasathi (Heera) attempting suicide to escape from her ruthless uncle (Shanmuga Sundaram). She realizes they are thieves, strikes a deal to escape from there while the two can take the loot; the three escape and board a running train and Chandralekha traveling in the same train saves them. They again escape from the CBI who stops the train en-route and reach a village. Chandralekha cheats and leaves Azhagu and Kadhir but they trace her and steal her bag containing the access card. 

Vikram comes to India, takes Ashok out on bail, and kills him. He advises Chandralekha to handover the access card to his contact at a specific place. Only on reaching there, she realizes that her bag has been stolen and also realizes that Vikram has instructed his person to kill her. 

Azhagu and Kadhir throw the bag containing the access card into a pond. Chandralekha escapes from the henchman and joins the boys. They dive into the pond and finally find the card. Vikram arrives there just in time and takes the card and threatens her and she reveals that the money is going in a container lorry to Cochin and that the container code number is SKF 1138. Just then, Raasathi arrives with a large number of villagers and while escaping, Azhagu swiftly steals the card again. 

Both the boys start liking Raasathi. Chandralekha informs the three about the real value of the access card and the need to escape from Vikram. Lakshminarayanan's team member, KPF (Madhan Bob) guesses right and CBI asks everyone to trace the container's travel. Vikram and his men also follow up on the container. 

The container lorry driver (S.S. Chandran) gets drunk and the arrack shop owner, to retrieve his dues, hides the container lorry in his warehouse. Azhagu, Kadhir, Chandralekha, and Raasathi, to escape from the Police, jump into a hidden lorry, and later realize it is the same vehicle they were looking for. The driver tries to throw them away and in the process, the lorry meets with an accident and goes down a lake. 

Azhagu and Kadhir bring elephants and pull out the container lorry. Meanwhile, Police Inspector Santosham, who noticed them escaping through the container, informs Lakshminarayanan. The four take the lorry to a secluded place and open the container and are amazed on seeing the money. They hide the container amidst trees. 

Azhagu expresses his love for Raasathi to Kadhir and Kadhir is shocked. Raasathi's uncle arrives there and takes her away. Azhagu and Kadhir after a daredevil fight retrieve her from her uncle's house and return. A happy Raasathi hugs Azhagu and Kadhir assumes that they love each other. However, Raasathi actually loves Kadhir. Azhagu requests Kadhir to speak to Raasathi on his behalf and Kadhir speaks, but she refuses. 

Meanwhile, Vikram takes away the container, and Azhagu and Kadhir steal it from him and hide it in their village. The CBI arrives in time to catch Chandralekha. 

Lakshminarayanan informs the villagers about the container carrying crores of rupees missing and the villagers rush in search of it. Raasathi plans to tell Lakshminarayanan about the money but Vikram intervenes and takes her with him to the same village and tortures her. In order to save her, Azhagu and Kadhir hand over the container to Vikram. The villagers come to know about the container and arrive in large to be shot down by Vikram's men. Many die including Raasathi's uncle and Vikram takes away the container in a train along with Raasathi. Azhagu and Kadhir board the train and Chandralekha reveals Vikram's plan to take the money to Kochin and then to Australia. 

In the ensuing fight, Azhagu and Kadhir kill Vikram. During the fight, Azhagu realizes that Kadhir and Raasathi are in love. Azhagu steals the access card from Vikram before killing him. When both the boys teasingly fight over the money, Raasathi gets angry, throws away the card, and chases them. Lakshminarayanan is relieved that the day before the budget presentation at Parliament, the money has been retrieved. Chandralekha is happy to see the three running away from money. 

[from the book Pride of Tamil Cinema: 1931 to 2013, by G Dhananjayan, Blue Ocean Publishers, 2014]

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