Karnan () is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Mari Selvaraj, and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu. The film stars Dhanush, Rajisha Vijayan (in her Tamil debut), Lal, Yogi Babu, Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli, Gouri G. Kishan and Natty Subramaniam. It features music composed by Santhosh Narayanan, cinematography by Theni Eswar, and editing by Selva R. K. The film follows the titular character from a lower caste background as he fights for the rights of his people.

The film began production in January 2020 and was completed that December, after delays in between due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was theatrically released on 9 April 2021. Though the film generated controversies for allegedly being influenced by the 1995 Kodiyankulam caste violence, it received critical acclaim and was a box office success, becoming as one of the highest grossing Tamil films of 2021, despite its theatrical run being affected due to pandemic restrictions. The Indian Express called Karnan one of the best Tamil films of 2021.

Plot In southern Tamil Nadu during the late 1990s, the neighbouring villages of Melur and Podiyankulam remain in a state of ongoing conflict. The dominant-caste residents of Melur leverage their political influence to deny Podiyankulam a bus stop, forcing the oppressed-caste residents of Podiyankulam to commute via Melur. Karnan, a hot-headed youth from Podiyankulam, wins a local ritualistic sword competition. His elderly confidant, Yaema Raja, worries that Karnan's volatile temper will jeopardise his selection into the CRPF.

Vadamalaiyan, a village head, seeks to take Karnan's elder sister Padmini as a second wife. Meanwhile, Karnan is in love with Vadamalaiyan's sister, Draupadhi. When Karnan gets into an altercation with Vadamalaiyan over his proposal to Padmini, Draupadhi misunderstands the conflict and breaks off her romantic relationship with Karnan. Concurrently, Karnan continues to grieve the death of his younger sister, who died of a seizure on the road when none came forward to admit her into an hospital.

Karnan, Yaema Raja and the former's friends vandalise a bus after its driver refuses to stop for a pregnant woman. Although the bus owner and village elders reach an amicable settlement, the caste-prejudiced Superintendent of police, Kannabiran, views the defiance as an affront to authority. To assert dominance, Kannabiran summons the village elders under the pretext of giving statements, brutally tortures them overnight for defying caste norms, and detains them on bogus charges. The next morning, Karnan uncovers the abuse, raids the police station with his friends, rescues the injured elders, and retreats to Podiyankulam. The villagers susbsequently barricade Podiyankulam against retribution.

As the village prepares for a police siege, Draupadhi and Vadamalaiyan resolve their misunderstandings with Karnan. Shortly after, Karnan receives his official CRPF appointment letter. Though reluctant to leave his community and Draupadhi vulnerable, he is persuaded by Yaema Raja and the villagers to depart for his training. Moments after his departure, Kannabiran leads a violent police raid on the defenceless village. To rally his people, Yaema Raja sacrifices himself through self-immolation.

After a young boy runs to alert Karnan about the assault, Karnan returns with his ritual sword and traps Kannabiran in a hut, demanding the presence of high-ranking government officials to resolve the conflict. When a fight breaks out inside, Kannabiran proudly cites his caste superiority and threatens the total destruction of Podiyankulam. Enraged, Karnan slays Kannabiran and surrenders to the authorities.

A decade later, Karnan is released from prison and returns home. Podiyankulam has finally secured its long-denied bus stop, the village elders have succumbed to the effects of police brutality, the younger generation has achieved formal education, and a large mural honouring Yaema Raja adorns the community hall wall. Reunited with Draupadhi, his sister Padmini who is happily married, and the others, Karnan is welcomed back with open celebrations.

Cast

Production

Development In November 2018, Dhanush announced his upcoming project will be directed by Mari Selvaraj, who previously directed Pariyerum Perumal (2018). Kalaipuli S. Thanu produced the film under V Creations, his second consecutive film with Dhanush, after Vetrimaaran's Asuran (2019). Despite its announcement in November 2018, the project's launch was delayed. In August 2019, reports stated that the film was tentatively titled as Karnan, although no official confirmation came from the team.

In September 2019, sources claimed that the film may begin production in December 2019, once Dhanush completes shooting for the Karthik Subbaraj-directorial titled Jagame Thandhiram. In September, Dhanush met Mari in London to finalise the script for the film. After Dhanush was impressed by the narration of the final script, the makers kick-started the pre-production works on 29 September, with Santhosh Narayanan being announced as the composer. On 6 January 2020, the makers officially announced the film's title as Karnan. The film is loosely based on the 1995 Kodiyankulam violence.

Casting In September 2019, Malayalam actress Rajisha Vijayan signed the female lead opposite Dhanush, thus making her debut in Tamil. The following month, veteran Malayalam actor Lal was also brought on board for the project. In December 2019, Natty Subramaniam also confirmed his part in the film. Tamil comedian and actor Yogi Babu, who appeared in Selavraj's debut film Pariyerum Perumal was roped in for the film's cast, which marked his maiden collaboration with Dhanush. During the pooja ceremony of the film, Babu and Vijayan were present in the film's cast, which confirmed their inclusion in the project. In January 2020, a still from the sets featuring Dhanush and Lal, was released with Dhanush essaying the titular character Karnan, whereas the latter's character was revealed as Yemen. Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli and Gouri G. Kishan were roped in as supporting cast.

Filming After wrapping the shoot for Karthik Subbaraj's Jagame Thandhiram, Dhanush joined the film's sets in Tirunelveli on 3 January. A launch ceremony for the film was held in a simple manner on 6 January 2020, and principal photography commenced the same day. Mari Selvaraj and art director T. Ramalingam recreated a replica miniature model of a village in the district.

With the shooting being progressed in a brisk pace, Dhaunsh unveiled a still from the film through social media platforms on 28 January. The picture features a silhouette of Dhanush holding a sword in his hand. The still went viral upon release with unique poster designs, with the still making rounds on the internet. On 24 February 2020, Dhanush posted a picture from the sets during the completion of the film's second schedule. The makers completed 90% of the film's portions, before being halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdown in India in March 2020. Nine months later, on 25 November 2020, the team resumed film shooting in order to complete few patchwork scenes and was wrapped up on 9 December 2020.

Themes In a 2020 Ananda Vikatan interview, Mari Selvaraj refuted the connections of the Podiyankulam violence with the script. He further added that "This is a work of fiction. It will have some elements of truth. But there is no need for film directors to portray truth. There are newspapers and magazines to inform the masses about the truth. We are reading and listening to a lot of stories. We take inspiration from those stories to create a film."

Mari Selvaraj in an interview with a news portal, stated the reason for the film's title as well as Dhanush's character in the film. He explained that "While the Karnan from Mahabharata was the one who gave away all his worldly belongings, Dhanush's Karnan has nothing to offer in the film as he comes from a conservative background. Karnan will also be seen fighting for his rights in the movie."

Jaya Gomathi Mirra, editor and chief film critic working for Cinema Express, reviewing for Karnan stated about the parallel themes involved with Mahabharata and its similarity with the plot and characters, as also film critic Baradwaj Rangan. Along with this, Mirra also reviewed the similarities and the connections with Selvaraj's previous film Pariyerum Perumal; she also reviewed about the political and artistic resonances in world cinema, quoting the likes of Seven Samurai, Bacurau and Les Misérables which also had similarities with the film.

Music

The film's soundtrack is composed by Santhosh Narayanan, in his second collaboration with Mari Selvaraj after Pariyerum Perumal, and fourth collaboration with Dhanush after Kodi, Vada Chennai and Jagame Thandhiram. In November 2019, Santhosh started the music production of the film with some folk artists across Tamil Nadu. The music album which was marketed by Think Music, features seven tracks in total, which includes four songs and three instrumentals; while three of the songs: "Kandaa Vara Sollunga", "Manjanathi Puranam" and "Thattaan Thattaan" were released as singles on 17, 25 February and 3 March 2021, the fourth single "Uttradheenga Yeppov" was released on 7 March, and the audio launch was held on 31 March. The complete album was released via music streaming platforms on 8 April.

Release Theatrical The makers announced the film's theatrical release on 9 April 2021, with its first look poster which unveiled in February 2021. Aashirvad Cinemas acquired the distribution rights of the film in Kerala. The satellite rights were sold to Zee Tamil in late July 2020. LetsOTT, a digital media company announced that the film's post theatrical streaming rights were acquired by Amazon Prime Video, further adding that the film will be made available through the platform post 30-days of its theatrical run. The film's Tamil Nadu theatrical rights were sold for crore.

A day before the scheduled release on 8 April 2021, The Government of Tamil Nadu imposed 50% seating capacity in theatres due to surge in COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu. Producer Kalaipuli S. Thanu tweeted that the film will be released on the scheduled date despite new restrictions on theatre occupancy being imposed. Advanced bookings of the film started on 6 April 2021, post Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections.

Home media The film began streaming on Amazon Prime Video from 14 May 2021. It premiered on Zee Tamil at 6:00 PM on 15 August 2021, the occasion of Independence Day.

Reception Box office Karnan registered ₹10.40 crore at the box office, which marked Dhanush's highest opening in his career. Despite 50% occupancy limit, the film earned ₹25.60 crore during the opening weekend, due to the positive word-of-mouth. The film received good response from audience at the rural centres, which helped a raise through its collections. The collections of the film were much affected by the new restrictions for theatres in order to curb COVID-19; as of the first eleven days of its release, it collected ₹46 crore from Tamil Nadu alone. It concluded its theatrical run with worldwide gross estimated to be ₹67.25 crore.

Critical response