Born a Brahmin, Ahimsaka is studying under a guru when he sees a woman named Nantha attempting to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff. He saves her, but later learns that Nantha was intended to be the bride of his teacher.
The teacher, angered by Ahimsaka's attention to his wife-to-be, tells his student that the only way he will attain enlightenment is to kill 1,000 people. This sets Ahimsaka off on a life as a highwayman, and at first he seeks to kill only bandits and other evildoers. To keep track of his victims, he takes a finger from the right hand of each, and wears the fingers around his neck, thus earning him the name Angulimala, "the wearer of a garland of fingers."
Eventually, he meets the Buddha himself....
Angulimala won at the Thailand National Film Association Awards for best costumes, best visual effects and best supporting actress for Alisa Kajornchaiyakul. It was screened at the 26th Moscow International Film Festival in 2004, where it was in competition for a Golden St. George.[9] It also screened at the Asian Film Festival of Paris in 2004