Panchatanthiram

Panchatanthiram is a 2002 Indian comedy about Ramachandramurthy, known as Ram, whose marriage has collapsed because his wife Mythili wrongly suspects him of being unfaithful. Hoping to lift his spirits, his friends hire an escort named Maggie to help him move on. Their plan goes badly wrong when Maggie is found dead, leaving the friends caught up in the consequences of a scheme that was never meant to cause anyone harm.

The film was directed by K. S. Ravikumar, who also wrote the screenplay. It was released in June 2002 and followed his earlier films Pistha, Padayappa, Suyamvaram and Thenali. Kamal Haasan plays Ram, with Simran as Mythili. Jayaram, Ramesh Aravind, Sriman and Yugi Sethu appear as the friends drawn into the situation, among a credited cast of twenty-six. The film runs 153 minutes and was produced by P.L. Thenappan and Rajat Nayyar through Lionheart Production House.

Audience response has been strong over the years. On IMDb it holds 8.2 out of 10 from around 5,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 7 out of 10 from a much smaller group of 35 ratings. That contrast suggests a widely remembered comedy with a devoted following among viewers who know the film well, rather than a broad international audience.