Express News Service Success begets success, it seems. Kamal Haasan was fresh out of Kuruthipunal, India’s official entry for the 68th Academy Awards. Shankar was aiming for a hat-trick after successive hits in Gentleman (1993) and Kadhalan (1994). Producer AM Rathnam, after success in Telugu cinema, was looking to make a statement in Tamil cinema. AR Rahman’s earlier release, Love Birds, was full of chartbusters. Editors B Lenin and VT Vijayan had previously worked on Shankar’s first two films and were keen to replicate the success. With such a rich repository of artists, all on the cusp of great fame, Indian came out to great critical acclaim and was chosen as India’s official entry for the Academy Awards in 1996.