Kaithi (2019 film)

The police, led by Inspector Bejoy, intercept a van transporting 900 kilograms of cocaine valued at over ₹800 crores. They keep the narcotics and those involved at the commissioner's office. The bust threatens the operations of Adaikalam, a notorious drug lord based in Trichy, whose identity remains unknown to the authorities. In retribution, his brother Anbu plots to retrieve the seized drugs and eliminate the officers responsible. During a retirement party for the Inspector General, the city's senior police officers are drugged by mixing Rohypnol with alcohol rendering them unconscious. Bejoy, who abstains due to medication, remains unaffected. To prevent public panic, he attempts to move the officers covertly to a hospital. He enlists the help of Dilli, a recently released prisoner detained for suspicious behaviour, by leveraging his desire to reunite with his daughter, Amudha, who is waiting at an orphanage. Kamatchi, a caterer at the party, aids them, and they use his truck to transport the incapacitated officers. Meanwhile, Anbu places a bounty on the police, prompting gang members to pursue the group. At the commissioner's office, Bejoy instructs Constable Napoleon and a group of college students detained for drunk driving to secure the premises and prevent Anbu's men from accessing the building or freeing the detainees. Dilli defends the group against multiple gang attacks. Bejoy later learns that Adaikalam himself is among the captured smugglers. Although Bejoy momentarily negotiates a deal between Napoleon and Anbu for a prisoner exchange, he cancels it upon this discovery. Anbu infiltrates the commissioner's office, but the students subdue him. As Dilli, Kamatchi, and Bejoy near the office with the unconscious officers, Anbu's heavily armed gang, led by his lieutenant, Tips, ambushes them. Paalpandi, a corrupt officer pretending to have recovered, stabs Dilli, and Bejoy is overpowered. Ajaz Ahmed, Bejoy's informant, is killed by Tips. Dilli recovers and defeats the attackers, rescuing Bejoy and Kamatchi, and killing Paalpandi. Back at the commissioner's office, Anbu orders the execution of one of the students, prompting Napoleon to subdue him with a fire extinguisher. Adaikalam, witnessing this, vows revenge. Dilli enters the building through a hidden passage and helps the students elude. Subsequently, he and Napoleon set out to destroy the narcotics. They find a confiscated M134 minigun and use it to eliminate Anbu's forces. A doctor revives the unconscious officers, and Stephen Raj, the Zonal Head of the Narcotics Division, is arrested for his involvement. Bejoy thanks Dilli and promises him a better life. Dilli is reunited with Amudha, brought by his probation officer, Nalini. In the final scene, as Dilli, Amudha, and Kamatchi walk away toward a new life, Adaikalam, from his prison cell, implies that he knows Dilli personally. == Cast ==

Origin After the success of Maanagaram (2017), director Lokesh Kanagaraj had rejected several offers from various production houses as he did not want to "succumb to the pressure of staying relevant in the industry by signing back-to-back projects". He examined his previous film, as the story is set in a span of 48 hours, and developed the script, which takes place on a single night, with the characters, story and setting revolving in the short time-span, but in a different genre – action. Eventually, he worked on the final draft that consisted of 45 pages and sent it to Prabhu's office, which Lokesh felt that "given the size of the script, he was perplexed when I handed it over to him". which is considered to be something new for Tamil cinema as Lokesh himself insisted that it "wasn't such a barrier to not have a heroine or a song in a commercial film". Prabhu later narrated the one-liner of the story to Karthi, during the shooting of his film Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru, which he had interested. After Lokesh's narration of the script, he immediately agreed to work on the film. In an interview with Srivatsan S of The Hindu, he stated that since the film "doesn't have songs or a heroine, people assumed it would be under two hours. See, that's how they are conditioned. The entire movie takes place in a single night but it needed to be told in that stipulated duration". The film was launched on 12 December 2018, with the announcement of the technical crew – Sam C. S. as the composer, Sathyan Sooryan as the cinematographer, Philomin Raj as the editor, who previously worked in Lokesh's Maanagaram, and the action choreographer duo Anbariv – being included in the film. In March 2019, the first look of the film was released, with the film's title also being revealed as Kaithi (). Characters Karthi plays the role of Dilli, an ex-convict, whose character was "physically and emotionally demanding". He stated that "It might be something I've not done before, something I can convert into a challenge for myself, or a film I'd like to watch as an audience [...] And, during that climax scene, we were all in that zone where we were pitch-perfect, where we were giving our very best. We actually felt like a family. As an actor, that's such a wonderful space to be in. It's almost addictive." Lokesh stated that the film did not have backstories for the characters, but there is a connection established between them and the audience. He further stated this an interview with The Indian Express, saying "I pay attention to even the trivial characters who contribute to a film. Starting from Narain, Dheena to Hareesh Peradi and Harish Uthaman—everyone's character was important. They were roped in because of their unique voice and dialogue delivery." George Maryan's character, the constable Napoleon, was considered by Lokesh to be "one of the most honest roles" he had written to that point. The first schedule of the film began in Chennai during mid-December and was completed in less than 15 days. The storyline takes place primarily in one night, except for the final scene. While many sources claimed that the film was shot within 62 days, Lokesh and Karthi themselves stated that they took about 36–45 days for shooting the film. == Themes and influences ==

Commentators have noted the film's similarities to Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) and Con Air (1997). Pon Parthiban also admitted in an interview, further stating that audience need to compare the scenes where both characters talk about their wives, and you can sense the spiritual connection they share, whereas Parthiban replied that "The dialogue in Virumaandi is even more beautiful". The setting of where the entire story takes place in a night, was also referenced from the filmography of directors Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. Lokesh believed that "movies shot in the dark are underrated and offer so much scope in terms of lighting". He took the hostage scene in Die Hard as an example, where the "darkness made it very atmospheric" and concluded that "In a way, this film was a reverse of that situation, where the bad guys are locked inside a police station that is under siege". For the making of the pre-climax action sequence choreographed by the duo Anbariv, where Karthi had to perform risky stunts on a moving lorry. He cited the stunt sequences of Naan Mahaan Alla (2010) as the benchmark for it. == Music ==

The original score is composed by Sam C. S. Despite not having any songs in the film, four tracks with vocals have been included in the background score, with a song titled "Neel Iravil" was featured in the film's teaser. In an interview to The Hindu, Sam recalled that Lokesh had hinted musical references from American films, and wanted to incorporate in the film score. He cited The Dark Knight (2008) as an example for one of the themes he had composed. == Release ==

Kaithi was initially scheduled to release during mid-July 2019, The release was further postponed to October 2019, before eventually finalising the release during Diwali (27 October 2019). The release eventually coincided with the Vijay-starrer Bigil (2019). A week before the scheduled release, the makers announced the release date as 25 October 2019, ahead of the Diwali festival. The film was cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in mid-October. It was also dubbed and released in Telugu as Khaidi. Prior to the scheduled release, the Tamil Nadu government denied permission to conduct early morning shows for the film and Bigil in concern of the increased ticket rates being levied by the exhibitors. Kaithi was released in more than 250 screens across Tamil Nadu, despite competition from Bigil. It was also showcased in 1400 screens worldwide, with the film releasing over 330 screens in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana; 75 screens in Kerala, 100 screens across Karnataka, 125 screens across other parts of India, and 400 screens in the overseas centres. and also reported an increase in the number of shows across Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and other overseas markets. Following its successful run, the digital streaming service Hotstar premiered the film on 25 November 2019, a month after its release date. It eventually received criticism from the exhibitors and distributors as the early digital premiere might lead to reducing number of footfalls in theatres. While producer S. R. Prabhu, attributed that the threat of piracy might be the reason for the 30-day window between theatrical and streaming run, many theatre owners opposed this. Irrespective of these factors, the film completed 50-day theatrical run on 13 December 2019. The satellite rights were brought by Star Vijay. Kaithi was selected for screening at the International Indian Film Festival in Toronto (IIFFT), which was held on 9–15 August 2020. In November 2021, the producers of the film confirmed the theatrical release in Japan, after one of the Japanese distributors piqued interest in showcasing the film in the country. With an initial agreement being signed, the producers announced that the film will be titled as Kaithi Dilli for its release in Japan, and will be screened from 19 November 2021. The film was intended to be released in Russia on 10 March 2022, with a Russian language dub, but eventually released in over 121 theatres at 297 cities in Russia on 19 May 2022. Home media Following its acquisition by Aha, Khaidi (Telugu) premiered exclusively on their platform on 15 February 2020. == Reception ==

Box office In the opening day of its release, the film collected on first day, despite competing with Bigil. At the end of the first week, the film collected about at the box-office. International Business Times published that the film had collected worldwide in the first 10 days, with from Tamil Nadu, in Kerala, close to in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and over in Karnataka. On 12 November 2019, the makers officially announced that the film had collected worldwide, thereby becoming Karthi's first film to cross the 100-crore mark. Owing to its critical response, it was featured in many year-end lists as one of the best Tamil films of 2019 by several publications such as The Indian Express, Film Companion South, Hindustan Times, Sify, Firstpost and India Today. Calling it as a "tense and impressively shot action thriller", M. Suganth gave 4.5 stars (out of 5) in the review for The Times of India, and stated "Lokesh Kanagaraj gives us a pure genre film minus the frills, like songs and romance, that we are used to in Tamil cinema". Though he concerned about "the film which feels overlong for its genre, as a couple of action blocks getting over-indulgent" but concluded "when it is action that we have signed up for, we cannot complain much about that". Janani K of India Today gave four out of five stars stating, "Kaithi is a film that showcases filmmaking at its best" and praised Karthi's performance as "terrific and natural that one could literally picture a prisoner going through a tough time". Sreedhar Pillai of Firstpost gave four-and-a-half out of five stars rating to the film saying "Kaithi is a well made film that takes the road less travelled and provides enough thrills". He further added that "Karthi's raw and intense performance, the film's taut screenplay and excellent technicality, along with awesome action scenes, makes Kaithi an edge-of-the seat thriller". News18-based critic Gauthaman Bhaskaran gave three out of five stars stating "Karthi's stunning performance makes it an engaging watch". Manoj Kumar R. of The Indian Express gave 3.5 stars (out of 5) stating, "Karthi has essayed his role in an almost self-effacing manner while allowing the space for other people's acts of courage in the narration to get their due screen time. Kaithi is the director's canvas. It is necessary to appreciate Karthi to let Lokesh do his thing without trying to bend the narration to suit his star image. The director softly but firmly announces himself as a major new force in the commercial space of the Tamil film industry, which still largely feeds on the narrow definition of mainstream entertainment." S. Srivatsan, writing for The Hindu, stated the film as "one of the best action thriller ever made since Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru". Further reviewing that "Kaithi does have its 'mass' moments, but there is a certain level of screenwriting that has gone into conceiving those. The plot contains all the elements of a conventional suspense-thriller, but where Kaithi differs is by how Lokesh Kanagaraj treats the genre and its audience with respect." Karthik Kumar of Hindustan Times stated it as "an action film with a soul and a purpose" while also stated that "though it is not a crowd-pleasing commercial film, it still caters to the masses". Sify gave three-and-a-half out of five stars stating "Kaithi is a solid action thriller and it will be a feast for action lovers". Calling it as "brilliant" and "engaging thriller", Anupama Subramanian of Deccan Chronicle gave four out of five, saying "Kaithi with its solid story combined with outstanding performances and flawless making is set to stand the test of time". The News Minute-based editor-in-chief, Priyanka Thirumurthy, gave four out of five stating "There is no star in Kaithi, as director Lokesh shows that a hero is anyone who goes beyond thinking about just himself." Baradwaj Rangan wrote for Film Companion, "Kaithi is certainly a sturdy vehicle for Karthi, who – as Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru so memorably demonstrated – is one of our few actors who can do both Clark Kent (through his face) and Superman (through his stocky frame). There's a fantastic "mass" scene, set around a swimming pool, where Dilli stuffs himself with biriyani – it's a stunning few minutes of a purely physical performance. It's strange how this Karthi looks and sounds so genteel and urban in real life, but his best work on screen is when he's got a bit of animal inside him." == Accolades ==

Kaithi received appreciation from several members of the film fraternity, including Gautham Vasudev Menon heaped praise on the film's trailer saying it as "intense and theatre worthy". Karthik Subbaraj called the film as "kick-ass film with lot of Wow moments through out", while Mahesh Babu, who watched the film, praised Lokesh for the exclusion of songs and technical brilliance, as a "welcome change" for the industry. Cinematographer P. C. Sreeram, who watched the film through Hotstar, called it as "an edge of the seat experience". He further praised Lokesh's direction and Sathyan Sooryan's (an apprentice of Sreeram) work in the film. Lokesh, in an interview with an online portal, stated that Vijay, who signed him for directing Master (2021), during the post-production of Kaithi, had watched the final rushes of the film before its release. He further stated that Vijay appreciated his work in the film and congratulated him before the release. The film's success made Lokesh a most sought director in Tamil cinema who later worked on several projects of top actors. Arjun Das, who played the main antagonist, Anbu, received praise for his characterisation and performance and his loud bass voice for the character gained him a huge following. Further, Arjun Das' Andhaghaaram, which completed production in 2014 but remained unreleased for more than six years following exhibitors' refusal to distribute the film, citing lack of prominent faces, was presented by director Atlee in 2020, following Arjun Das' popularity after in Kaithi, and released directly through Netflix the same year. Kaithi's success had trade analysts researching about how commercial films without featuring songs but become hits are a rarity in Tamil cinema. Film producer-cum-analyst G. Dhananjayan examined that "For certain type of films, songs are not required while for others, right inclusion of songs satisfy audience who are looking for entertainment as the key element [...] Directors like Sridhar, K Balachander, Bharathirajaa, Balu Mahendra, Mahendran, Mani Ratnam, Shankar have used songs effectively to communicate their stories and not as commercial elements [...] If such approach is followed by other filmmakers, the necessity of songs in films would be unquestioned". The film revived the popularity of the song "Jumbalakka", composed by A. R. Rahman from the film En Swasa Kaatre (1999); in a scene from Kaithi where the students play an assortment of songs using a music player in loud volume to distract the prisoners from commandeering instructions to their comrades outside the police station. The song became a trend after the release of the film. The film's screenplay was released as book published by Pesaamozhi Publications in January 2023. == Future ==

Lokesh Cinematic Universe Kaithi serves as the first instalment in the planned Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU). In June 2022, Lokesh stated that the film was interlinked with the Kamal Haasan-starrer Vikram (2022). Avinash Ramachandran, writing for Cinema Express stated the possibilities of the connection, within the two films, referring to stash of drugs which had scorpion symbol (shown in Vikram's trailer), and in a scene where, Inspector Bejoy (Narain) while speaking to informer Ajhas Ahmed (Kanna Ravi), questions about "The Ghost", Suriya's undisclosed cameo before the film's release and several speculations. Before Vikram's release, Lokesh asked fans to watch Kaithi before Vikram to understand the context of the film, thereby confirming its connection with the two films. Narain reprises his role in brief as Inspector Bejoy in Vikram. Additionally, Arjun Das, Harish Uthaman, Hareesh Peradi, Dheena and Baby Monica, reprises their roles in cameo appearances as Anbu, Adaikalam, Stephen Raj, Kamatchi and Amudha, respectively, in the film's mid-credits scene, while Karthi reprised his role in a voice-over. George Maryan reprises his role as Napoleon in Leo (2023) where he is appointed to protect Parthiban (Vijay). Sequels As implied at the end of the film, Lokesh had planned for a sequel, which he confirmed after its release. In an interview with Subha J Rao to Firstpost, Lokesh conveyed his interest on developing the film into a franchise, stating that he had an idea for both prequel as well as sequel, which depends on the recurring schedules of the cast members. It has been reported that the team had filmed most of the scenes during the shooting of the first part and only 30 days of shooting has been left. Kaithi 2 is intended to be a prequel for Dilli, focusing on his character. Following the success of Vikram, Lokesh planned to expand the scale of the sequel, Production of the film was expected to begin in the second quarter of 2022, but was delayed as Lokesh intended to resume the project after completing Leo and Rajinikanth's Coolie. == Remakes ==

Kaithi was remade in Hindi as Bholaa (2023). In March 2020, it was speculated that the film will be remade in Kannada, with Shiva Rajkumar playing the lead role but was not remade subsequently. Kaithi was also remade in Malay language, titled Banduan (2025) starring Aaron Aziz. == Controversies ==

A petition was filed against the producer S. R. Prabhu, by Rajiv Ranjan, a native from Kollam district in Kerala, for lifting his story without his permission. In his statement, he wrote an autobiography after spending years at the Puzhal Central Prison (Chennai) in 2000. He narrated his story to Prabhu in 2007, which he had agreed to use as a film script and paid Rajeev ₹10,000 in advance. When Lokesh made the film, he was shocked to see that it was the same story, which the producer narrated to him and felt cheated, resulting him to file a petition at Kollam High Court, Kerala to stop the works on the sequel and its remake. The court gave verdict in favour of him in July 2021, while also demanded the producer to pay as a compensation, for allegedly mimicking his story. This was pointed on a leading news channel, which also led derogatory comments against Lokesh in response to the issue. Following the accusations, Prabhu slammed the channel for the way the issue was reported and claimed that they do not have details pertaining to the case and hence cannot comment on the issue. However, they noted that they are ready to face any legal issues with respect to the controversy, since their records are clean. In mid-February 2022, the Kerala Court dismissed the copyright allegations and stated that the story belongs to Lokesh. == Notes ==