I

I is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by S. Shankar. Produced and distributed by V. Ravichandran under his production company, Aascar Films, the film features Vikram, Amy Jackson and Suresh Gopi in lead roles while Santhanam, Upen Patel, Ojas Rajani (in her film debut) and Ramkumar Ganesan portray pivotal roles. The film tells the story of a bodybuilder turned supermodel, played by Vikram, who after being deformed, exacts revenge upon those who were responsible for his predicament. Parts of the film were loosely based on The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Beauty and the Beast. The soundtrack and film score were composed by A. R. Rahman.

Production design was handled by T. Muthuraj. P. C. Sreeram was the film's cinematographer and editing was done by Anthony. The visual effects were designed by V. Srinivas Mohan through Rising Sun Pictures. Weta Workshop had worked on the digital and prosthetic make-up and background arts for the film. Principal photography commenced on 15 July 2012. The filming lasted for two years and eight months, during which shooting was done extensively in China. Further schedules were filmed in locations in Chennai, Bangkok, Jodhpur, Kodaikanal, Pollachi, Bangalore and Mysore. The climax train fight scene was shot in the railway stations of Chengalpattu, Odisha and Vishakhapatnam. The film was dubbed and released in Telugu and Hindi along with the original Tamil version.

I was released on 14 January 2015; Critics praised Vikram's performance, the technical aspects of the film – especially the costume design and makeup, and A.R. Rahman's soundtrack and score but criticised the 'wafer-thin' writing and screenplay and the film's 188-minute running time. However, the film was a commercial success, grossing ₹2.25 billion (US$32 million) worldwide, becoming one of the highest grossing Tamil films of all time and Vikram's highest-grossing film. Vikram won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for the film

Plot

Lingesan is a bodybuilder from Chennai, whose main ambition is to become Mr. India. He wins the title of Mr. Tamil Nadu, which gives him direct entry to the Mr. India pageant. He is infatuated with Diya, a leading supermodel. Diya is soon blacklisted, with all her advertisement film contracts cancelled by John, her co-star in all her advertisements, after she constantly rejected his sexual advances. To save her career, Diya decides to replace John with Lingesan, whom she had earlier met at one of her shoots, as her co-star for her next advertisement. The shooting is to take place in China at the same time when the Mr. India pageant is to take place, but Lingesan agrees, sacrificing his Mr. India ambitions in the process.

Lingesan is given a makeover by Diya's stylist, a transgender woman Osma Jasmine. The shoot initially does not go well as Lingesan is shy and awkward around Diya. On her director's advice, Diya pretends to fall in love with Lingesan so that he would loosen up and perform better during the shoot. The plan proves successful but Diya soon tells Lingesan the truth. Hurt, he focuses on modelling instead of her. They both gradually excel in the modelling industry as the lead pair. As time passes, Diya reciprocates Lingesan's love for her and they soon get engaged.

In his journey from a bodybuilder to a top model, Lingesan makes many enemies, including John, whose modelling career was ruined due to Lingesan's rising popularity, forcing him to appear in local advertisements to stay afloat; Osma, who was infatuated with Lingesan and revealed her feelings to him, only to be rejected; industrialist Indrakumar, whose company suffered losses when Lingesan refused to endorse their soft drink as it was reported to contain pesticides; and another bodybuilder Ravi, who also competed for the Mr. Tamil Nadu title but lost to Lingesan. These four people conspire to take revenge on Lingesan and destroy his fame and modelling career.

Two days before his wedding, Lingesan slowly starts to experience hair and teeth loss and a skin disorder. He consults his friend Vasudevan, a doctor who is also the guardian of Diya's family. Vasudevan claims that he is suffering from a rare and incurable genetic disease which results in premature ageing. Lingesan's condition worsens, with his face and body deforming, and eventually he becomes a hunchback. In his current condition, Lingesan decides to disappear from public eye and also from Diya's life by faking his death in a car accident. Only his friend Babu and Vasudevan know that he is alive. Lingesan asks Vasudevan to marry Diya as he is the only person who will be able to understand Diya's past and present situation. Vasudevan agrees and the wedding is fixed.

On the eve of Diya's wedding, another doctor named Thiruvengadam reveals to Lingesan that, contrary to Vasudevan's claims, he is actually suffering from H4N2 influenza, caused by the "I" virus, which can only be transmitted by injection. Lingesan discovers that John, Osma, Indrakumar, Ravi and, to his horror, even Vasudevan, are responsible for injecting the virus into his body. Vasudevan had an insatiable lust for Diya since she was a schoolgirl and was enraged when she chose Lingesan over him. Therefore, he sided with Lingesan's enemies and planned the entire operation to have Lingesan injected with the virus. Lingesan is then beaten up by them and tied up, but manages to escape later. Enraged and betrayed, Lingesan abducts Diya on the wedding day and keeps her safely in an old house without revealing his identity to her.

Aided by Babu, Lingesan decides to take revenge on those who had deformed him without killing them. He first immolates Ravi, who suffers severe burns. He then prepares a paste which Osma unknowingly applies on her body, causing her body to sprout huge growths of hair. Next, he subjects Indrakumar to bee stings all over his body. He fights John over a moving train and gets him electrocuted. Finally, he gets Vasudevan to unwittingly inject a virus into himself, causing his whole body to swell up. After achieving his revenge, Lingesan reveals his condition to Diya, who, though initially taken aback, still loves him despite his deformity. They decide to live a secluded life together. Lingesan undergoes ayurvedic treatment, yoga and physiotherapy for his condition and soon returns to normal.