Thirupathi (2006 Tamil film)

Thirupathi
Directed by	Perarasu
Produced by	M. Saravanan M. S. Guhan
Written by	Perarasu
Starring	Ajith Kumar Sadha Riyaz Khan Arun Pandian
Music by	Bharathwaj
Cinematography	S. Saravanan
Edited by	Anthony
Production company	AVM Productions
Release date	14 April 2006
Running time	158 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Thirupathi is a 2006 Tamil action film written and directed by Perarasu and produced by AVM Productions. The film features Ajith Kumar and Sadha in the lead roles, with Riyaz Khan and Arun Pandian appearing in other pivotal roles.

Thirupathi is a straightforward young man who leads a happy life with his parents and younger sister. He happens to meet Priya and both fall for each other. Thirupathi’s sister is pregnant and at the time of delivery, he takes her to a hospital. The doctor there expects bribe but when it is not forthcoming, neglects his duty because of which Thirupathi’s sister dies. Thirupathi comes to know that this is not the first instance in the hospital and the doctor is none other than Soori’s brother. When he goes out to get him, Soori and his father do all that they can to protect him from Thirupathi. How Thirupathi gets his revenge on the people responsible for his sister's death forms the rest of the movie.

During the making of Sivakasi, representatives from AVM Productions approached Perarasu to make a commercial film with Ajith Kumar in the lead role. The director immediately accepted the offer and told the producer the story of the film during the meeting and the film was announced publicly two days later. In August 2005, it became clear that the film would begin in November and that Riyaz Khan would play the lead antagonist role in the project.Sadha was signed on to play the lead role after early reports suggested that either Nayantara, Renuka Menon or Gopika would play the lead female role. The film was launched officially on 15 September 2005 with Vijay attending the opening ceremony.

For the film, Ajith lost 18 kilograms in 55 days by being on a liquid diet and lost the weight he had sported on screen in his previous few films. The art director erected the set of a village in Prasad Studios in December 2005 including a shopping place, a big temple and an 80 ft statue of Lord Shiva. In early 2006, Asin was approached to appear in an item number in the film but refused, with Laila eventually taking the role.