Kaithi
Trailer, Teaser & Videos
Poster & Photos
Movie Details
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller |
| Release date | 25 October 2019 |
| Running time | 2hr 26min |
| Certificate | U/A |
| Starring | Karthi, Narain, Arjun Das |
| Directed by | Lokesh Kanagaraj |
| Written by | Lokesh Kanagaraj, Pon Parthiban |
| Produced by | S. R. Prakashbabu, S. R. Prabhu, Thiruppur Vivek |
| Cinematography by | Sathyan Sooryan |
| Edited by | Philomin Raj |
| Music by | Sam C. S. |
| Production Company | Dream Warrior Pictures Vivekananda Pictures |
| Distributor | Dream Warrior Pictures |
Cast & Characters
- Karthi as Dilli
- Narain as Inspector Bejoy
- Arjun Das as Anbu Das
- George Maryan as Constable Napoleon
- Harish Uthaman as Adaikalam
- Dheena as Kaamaatchi
- Baby Monica as Amudha, Dilli’s daughter
- Ramana as Tips
- Amjath as Ram
- Kanna Ravi as Ajaz Ahmed / Sampath
- Hareesh Peradi as Stephen Raj
- Arun Alexander as Paalpaandi
- Vatsan Chakravarthi as Ajay
- Udayaraj as a college student
- Kishore Rajkumar as Ashok, a college student
- Lallu as Chittu, a college student
- Deepthi as Thamizh, college student
- Krishnamoorthi as K. Venkat
- Malavika Avinash as Nalini, Probation officer (uncredited)
- Chetan as Dr. Amudhan (uncredited)
- R. N. R. Manohar as an IG (uncredited)
Storyline
In the film, a recently released prisoner races against time to drive poisoned cops to a hospital in exchange for meeting his daughter while evading criminals chasing him.
About Kaithi Movie
Kaithi is a Tamil action thriller directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced by S. R. Prakash Babu and S. R. Prabhu under Dream Warrior Pictures, with co-production by Tiruppur Vivek under Vivekananda Pictures. Starring Karthi in the lead role, the film also features Narain, Arjun Das, Harish Uthaman, George Maryan, and Dheena. It serves as the first installment in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU).
Following the success of Maanagaram (2017), Lokesh Kanagaraj turned down multiple offers, unwilling to rush into projects for the sake of industry relevance. However, since he had already committed to a film with Maanagaram producers Dream Warrior Pictures, he began developing scripts but struggled to finalize a concept. Inspired by a news article about an ex-prisoner, he crafted the script for Kaithi. Initially, he envisioned Mansoor Ali Khan for the lead role, but as the project scaled up, Karthi was cast instead.
Principal photography commenced on 13 December 2018, a day after the film’s launch. The first schedule in Chennai wrapped in under 15 days, followed by a second schedule in Tenkasi starting on 4 January 2019. Key sequences were also shot in and around Tirunelveli. Since the film takes place in a single night, Lokesh opted to shoot predominantly at night, with only the climax featuring a daytime scene for narrative authenticity.
Filming concluded on 9 May 2019. While early reports suggested a 62-day shoot, Lokesh and Karthi later clarified that it took between 36 to 45 days.
The film was remade in Hindi as Bholaa (2023), and a Kannada remake featuring Shiva Rajkumar was reported in March 2020.
As the first installment of the Lokesh Cinematic Universe, Kaithi was followed by Vikram (2022), where Narain reprised his role as Bejoy, and Leo (2023), featuring George Maryan as Napoleon. A sequel, Kaithi 2, is currently in development.
Where to Watch Kaithi Movie Online?
Budget & Box Office Collection
| Budget | ₹25 crore |
| Opening Day | ₹3.5 crore (US$400,000) |
| Worldwide Collection | ₹105 crore (US$12 million) |
