Kaithi () is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. Produced by Dream Warrior Pictures and Vivekananda Pictures, it is the first instalment in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe. The film stars Karthi in the titular role, alongside Narain, Arjun Das, Harish Uthaman, Mariyam George and Dheena. In the film, taking place mainly within one night, a recently released prisoner drives poisoned policemen to a hospital while evading criminals, in exchange for meeting his daughter.
Lokesh initially worked on two scripts after the success of Maanagaram, which he scrapped working on due to issues regarding the extensive research and casting process, until he came across a news article about an ex-prisoner's life. He initially wanted Mansoor Ali Khan to play the lead role, but during the writing process, Karthi was asked to play the lead with the scale of the budget being increased further. Principal photography began in December 2018 and was completed by August 2019. The film was largely shot at night. It is a songless film with a score composed by Sam C. S. The cinematography and editing were handled by Sathyan Sooryan and Philomin Raj respectively.
Kaithi was released on October 25, 2019, ahead of the Diwali festival. The film received positive reviews from critics and became a box-office success, grossing 105 crore worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of 2019. It was further selected for official screening at the International Indian Film Festival Toronto (IIFFT) in August 2020 and won two Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, three Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards, South Indian International Movie Awards, and four Zee Cine Awards respectively. Kaithi is the first installment of the Lokesh Cinematic Universe, which is followed up in Vikram, with Narain reprising his role as Bejoy while George Maryan reprises his role as Napoleon in Leo. A sequel titled Kaithi 2 is in development.
Plot 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 officers, prompting gang members to pursue the group. Paalpandi, a corrupt officer pretending to be unconscious, helps them.
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. En route, 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 after getting the unconscious officers to a hospital, a gang, led by Anbu's lieutenant, Tips, ambushes them. Paalpandi, pretending to have recovered, stabs Dilli, and Bejoy is overpowered. Ajaz Ahmed, Bejoy's informant inside Anbu's gang, is killed by Tips. Dilli recovers and defeats the attackers, rescues Bejoy and Kamatchi, and kills Tips and 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 escape. 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 corrupt Zonal Head of the Narcotics Division, is arrested for his involvement in Anbu's plot.
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
Production 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". Nonetheless, since he was already assigned to direct a project for the producers of Maanagaram, S. R. Prakash Babu and S. R. Prabhu under the company Dream Warrior Pictures, he began research to develop a script, but the project failed to materialise as he needed more time for research works. Lokesh began developing another script, but this was also dropped. He came upon a news article about an ex-prisoner that instantly caught its attention and decided to work on the script.
Lokesh examined his previous film, which was set in a span of 48 hours, and developed the script of Kaithi, which takes place largely in 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". The film did not have a female lead or songs in the film, which was considered unique 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". Vivekananda Pictures, an established film production company in 1980s, also co-produced and distributed this project with Tiruppur Vivek as the producer, thereby marking its return to film production after two decades.
Development
Lokesh stated that the script was initially written with Mansoor Ali Khan in mind for playing the lead actor, but as the process of writing went forth, the stature of the lead character went bigger, and demanded a popular actor to play the lead role, thereby increasing the scale of the 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".
Lokesh wanted to expand the film after Karthi's inclusion, and as a result, Pon Parthiban was hired to write the additional screenplay and dialogues for the film, as per Karthi's insistence, as he appreciated his work in Kaatrin Mozhi (2018). 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 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."
Narain played the role of Inspector Bejoy, and was cast after Karthi's persistence to have him in that particular role. He stated that his role in the film is "interesting" and similar to the role he played in Anjathe (2008). 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. Arjun Das was chosen to play the main antagonist Anbu since Lokesh felt he had the powerful voice needed for the character.
Filming Principal photography began on 13 December 2018, the day after the film was launched. The first schedule of the film began in Chennai during mid-December and was completed in less than 15 days. The team began the second schedule in Tenkasi on 4 January 2019. Major portions of the film were also shot in the surroundings of Tirunelveli. The storyline takes place primarily in one night, except for the final scene.
Narain faced difficulties while filming some stunt scenes. He claimed that due to one hand being in a sling, running down a steep slope during a scene was "dangerous, and took every ounce of concentration, as I couldn't balance myself properly while running downhill. As it was my first time doing stunts with a sling, it took a lot of skill and judgement to tackle the kicks, fisticuffs and falls in the chase and fight sequences". During another scene, Narain was told to "run out of a verandah, past a swimming pool, and keep running, halting only at a designated spot at a distance". He recalled, "But as I ran past the pool, I tripped on a slippery patch of water on the concrete. With one hand in a sling, I couldn't balance myself to stop the fall and fell down flat, my shoulder and chest taking the brunt of the fall [...] I felt I'd had a narrow escape, since it was hard concrete around the pool", but was left with shoulder pain for four months.
Karthi practised to drive a lorry in one of the sequences. Since he had not driven a lorry before, he felt it was "quite challenging". Lokesh explained about few sequences, particularly the climax scenes, as he stated that "Cinema is all about making the audience believe it is real. So, I didn't mind those couple of larger-than-life fights, towards the climax portions. Every fight had a backstory to it, and wasn't away from the premise. I only wanted my characters to behave and sound authentic." Principal photography wrapped on 9 May 2019. 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