The Duo) is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language epic political drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Mani Ratnam.

The film, inspired by the lives of M. G. Ramachandran, M. Karunanidhi and J. Jayalalithaa, is set against the backdrop of cinema and politics in Tamil Nadu.

It stars an ensemble cast including Mohanlal, Prakash Raj, Aishwarya Rai, Revathi, Gautami, Tabu, and Nassar.

Five years later, Ayya Veluthambi asks Anandan to contest in the upcoming elections, much to the displeasure of Tamizhselvan, who thinks other, more devoted workers deserve candidacy.

Anandan is shot in neck by a prop gun while filming a scene, but the party sweeps elections, with 152 seats out of 234.

Tamizhselvan is resentful that Veluthambi did not involve him, but is chosen to be the chief minister of Tamil Nadu with Anandan's wholehearted support.

Anandan uses his popular films for next four years to highlight corruption in Tamizhselvan's government and storms to power in the next election with 145/234 seats.

Tamizhselvan, in an emotional monologue set in a place where the two had previously planned dominating the Tamil state, recites poetry mourning his death.

[4] Initial speculation suggested that the film would visualise the duel between Velupillai Prabhakaran and his former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam deputy Mahattaya, who was executed in 1995 for an alleged plot to kill his mentor, with Aishwarya Rai reported to be playing Indira Gandhi.

He described that debutant Aishwarya Rai, the former Miss World beauty pageant winner, who appeared in two different characters—one inspired by actress-politician J. Jayalalithaa—as a "tremendous dancer" and as "having a lot of potential".

The director revealed that the only difficulty Mohanlal and Rai had was the language, with both being non-Tamil speakers, adding that the pair had to work hard over the dubbing trying to get as close to the Tamil tongue as possible.

[7] The actor to play the role of Tamizhselvan, inspired by Karunanidhi, took substantially longer to finalise with the initial choice, Nana Patekar, withdrawing after several discussions about his remuneration.

[8][9] Negotiations with R. Sarathkumar failed as he demanded a higher remuneration, and Mithun Chakraborty declined as the required looks would have affected his other film commitments.

Arvind Swamy was later signed on,[10] but soon opted out after a look test, as he could not cut his hair for the role, which would have caused continuity problems for his commitment to Minsara Kanavu and Pudhayal (1997).

[11] Ratnam called R. Madhavan, then a small-time model, for the screen test, but left him out of the project citing that he thought his eyes looked too young for a senior role.

Following the producer's protest, it was seen by an eight-member revising committee on 2 January 1997 which suggested deletion of some objectionable portions and cleared the film for U/A certification.

Two days before the release of the film, Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani threatened to mobilise public against its screening in theatres, because he felt that it contained "objectionable" footage denigrating the Dravidian movement founded by Periyar.

The film was also noted for its vignette style of making, with many single-shot scenes, where a fluid camera setup captures the entire action.