Giri (2004): watch the full film free, legally

A feud across the river

Giri is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language action comedy directed and co-written by Sundar C. Arjun Sarja, Ramya and Reema Sen lead the cast, while Devayani, Vadivelu and Prakash Raj appear in supporting roles. Released on 1 October 2004, the film became a profitable venture at the box office. It marked actress Khushbu's production debut for Avni Cinemax. D. Imman handled the music and background score.

Giri's mission in Kumbakonam

Veerapandi Puram and Soolakkarai are villages divided by a river and a continuing feud. Their headmen, Veerasamy of Veerapandi Puram and Sethupathy of Soolakkarai, carry personal enmity. After a misunderstanding concerning the deaths of Sethupathy's children, Sethupathy seeks revenge against Veerasamy and targets his son, Suriyaprakash. Paramasivam's son Giri saves Suriyaprakash, who then disappears.

Twenty years later, Shiva arrives in Kumbakonam to protect DSP Chandrashekhar's wife and son from Sethupathy and his gangsters. He stays with bakery owner Veerabaagu. At a wedding reception, Shiva saves Chandrashekhar's family when Sethupathy's son tries to murder them. Ramalingam identifies Shiva as Giri and reveals that Chandrashekhar was Suriyaprakash, also called Suriya. Giri had been sent to return the remaining family to the village after Suriya's death. Sethupathy and his gangsters remain a threat.

Locations and critical response

Filming took place in Chennai, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Pollachi and Trichy. A boat-race sequence was filmed in Kerala, and some songs were shot in a village near Kumbakonam. Ramya, described as a popular Kannada actress, was not paid by the producer because the film was not released in Karnataka.

Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu called it a quick-paced film that highlights action, with comedy and romance appearing for relief, while describing its family-feud story and characters as familiar. G. Ulaganathan of Deccan Herald wrote that comedy was difficult to find, said the director-producer had spent lavishly, and praised cameraman Selva for filming Kerala's picturesque locations.

Film details from the Wikipedia article “Giri (film)”. Text adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0.