Polladhavan (transl. The Ruthless Man) is a 1980 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film produced by S. Ravi, written and directed by his father Muktha Srinivasan. A remake of the 1976 Kannada film Premada Kanike, it stars Rajinikanth, Lakshmi and Sripriya. The film revolves around a wealthy merchant who commits a murder, then keeps his daughter's nanny, an eyewitness, captive in his house. Polladhavan was released on 6 November 1980, Diwali. The film became a commercial success, and was one of many films which helped Rajinikanth to carve out a niche for himself in vendetta roles.