Dhanushs Captain Miller wins national film award as star earns special mention

Captain Miller, the Tamil period action film led by Dhanush, has won a national film award in India, more than a year after its director disclosed that the story had originally been rooted in the LTTEs first Black Tiger attack.

At the 72nd National Film Awards, Captain Miller won the award for Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values, while Dhanush received a special mention in the Best Actor category for his performance in the title role. The film was directed by Arun Matheswaran and produced by Sathya Jyothi Films.

Dhanush, recognised more than once at this years awards, used a public appearance to address online debate over his wins, acknowledging that other Tamil films released that year had also been deserving while urging audiences to celebrate the recognition of Tamil cinema.

"As a Tamilian, I have received two more National Awards; dont brush this aside, celebrate it," he said.

A Black Tiger disguised

For many Tamils, the films resonance lies in its title. Captain Miller was the nom de guerre of Vallipuram Vasanthan, the LTTE cadre who carried out the first ever Black Tiger attack, driving an explosives-laden truck into a Sri Lankan Army garrison at Nelliady in the Jaffna district on 5 July 1987. At least 40 soldiers were killed.

Statue of Captain Miller in Nelliady, Jaffna, 2003

Speaking before the films release in January 2024, Matheswaran acknowledged that Captain Miller had originally been based on "a true incident" from 1987 during the Tamil Eelam liberation struggle, saying it was the first time he was disclosing this. He said the idea had come to him, but that he had been told a film made directly on the subject was too controversial to be released on the island.

"To make it acceptable, I set the story in the pre-independence era so that no questions would arise and there would be no controversy. But still, it is a painful story."

In the finished film, set in the 1930s under the British Raj, Dhanush plays a British Indian Army veteran who turns against colonial authority to defend his village.

Captain Miller, 01.01.1966 - 05.07.1987

The trailer had been released on 2 July 2023, days before Black Tigers Day, or Karumpuli Naal, marked on 5 July in the Tamil homeland and across the diaspora to commemorate the real Captain Millers attack. A statue of him was erected in his hometown of Nelliady, but was destroyed by men linked to the Sri Lankan military in 2006. Tens of thousands of Tamils paused for a minutes silence at the location during the 2021 Pottuvil to Polikandy rally.

Captain Miller is the first instalment of a planned trilogy.