Kana Kandaen to Kaappaan, watch KV Anand’s visually brilliant films online

The South film audience woke up to a truly heart-breaking news of the demise of veteran Tamil filmmaker KV Anand on April 30. The 54-year-old cinematographer-turned-director, who had worked in superhit films across industries, passed away after suffering a heart attack in Chennai at 3am on Friday.

Anand, who began his career as a cinematographer with Priyadarshan’s Thenmavin Kombathu, won the National Award for Best Cinematography for his debut effort. As a cameraman, he had collaborated in several visually stunning blockbusters including Mudhalvan, Khakee and Sivaji.

The veteran filmmaker made his directorial debut with the Srikanth and Prithviraj-starrer Kana Kandaen and collaborated with Suriya thrice as a filmmaker in Ayan, Maattraan and most recently in Kaappaan.

Here’s a list of his directorials that are available to stream online:

Ayan (Disney+ Hotstar)

The Suriya-starrer was Anand’s first big commercial film and it delivered at the box office. Shot in India, Africa and Malaysia, the movie has Suriya playing Devaraj, a computer science graduate who also helps smuggle pirated DVDs and contrabands. However, after a similar operation reveals that his boss is also smuggling drugs, Devaraj has a fallout that has massive ramifications.

Ko (Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar)

The political thriller was hailed as the biggest hit of the year and also won several awards. Starring Jiiva, Ajmal Ameer, Pia Bajpai and Karthika, the film revolves around a photojournalist covering the State elections and how his work exposes corrupt politicians and leads to a young brigade coming to power. Ko once again showcases Anand’s talent to bring to screen commercially successful entertainers.

Anegan (MX Player)

This Dhanush entertainer solidified Anand’s status as a filmmaker, whose films gave the audience what they want while never sacrificing on the script. Based on the concept of reincarnation, the movie had Dhanush playing four different characters and the storyline that spans from 1960s to the present has everything that a mass entertainer can ask for and more – period set film pieces, action, comedy, red herrings and Dhanush in top form.

Kana Kandaen (Disney+ Hotstar)

The film marked the directorial debut of Anand and Kollywood debut for Malayalam actor Prithviraj. The romantic thriller revolves around Bhaskar and Archana (played by Srikanth and Gopika) who escape from their village and come to Chennai. There, Bhaskar begins work with on a desalination plant as part of his project and is befriended by Madan (Prithviraj). But are Madan’s intentions noble?

Kaappaan (Amazon Prime Video)

In Kaappaan, Anand took on a theme that involved attempted assassinations of the Prime Minister and a NSG commando, who also moonlights as an organic farmer, saving the State from a conspiracy of apocalyptic proportions. The film might not be the best of Anand’s work but he never held back. From the casting of Mohanlal, Arya and Suriya to the brilliant visuals, Kaappaan showed that Anand can master any genre.