Kaththi

Kaththi
Theatrical release poster
Directed byA. R. Murugadoss
Written byA. R. Murugadoss
Produced byAllirajah Subashkaran
K. Karunamoorthi
Starring
CinematographyGeorge C. Williams
Edited byA. Sreekar Prasad
Music byAnirudh Ravichander
Production
company
Distributed byAyngaran International
Eros International[1]
Release date
  • 22 October 2014 (2014-10-22) (India)
Running time
161 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Budget₹70 crore[2]
Box office₹100—128 crore[3][4]

Kaththi (transl. Knife) is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language action drama film[5] written and directed by AR Murugadoss. It is produced by Subaskaran Allirajah's Lyca Productions. The film stars Vijay in dual roles, alongside Samantha, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Sathish, Rama, Yuvina Parthavi, Jeeva Ravi, Sudip Mukherjee, Tamiko Brownlee and Elizabeth P. Carpenter. In the film, a petty thief assumes the identity of his lookalike and attempts to lead a rebellion by farmers from the latter's village, Thanoothu, and helps them fight against an entrepreneur who exploited Thanoothu's water resources.

Kaththi marks the second collaboration between Vijay and Murugadoss, after Thuppakki (2012). The official announcement took place in November 2013, and the principal photography took place in February—September 2014. Primarily shot across Chennai, it was also filmed in Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Rajahmundry, Begumpet, Nellore, and Kadapa. The cinematography for the film was handled by George C. Williams, and the film was edited by A. Sreekar Prasad. The soundtrack and film score is composed by Anirudh Ravichander. The film marks the Tamil debuts of Neil Nitin Mukesh and Tota Roy Chowdhury.

Made on a budget of ₹70 crore, Kaththi was released worldwide on 22 October 2014, coinciding with Diwali, and received critical acclaim with critics praising Vijay and Neil's performance, technical aspects, background score, soundtrack, cinematography, editing, action sequences, social message, direction, and writing.[6] Before the film's release, it faced controversies for plagiarism allegations,[7] and the business link of Subaskaran, the film's producer, with Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, which resulted in Tamil fringe groups protesting against the film.[8] Despite this, the film was a commercial success, grossing around ₹100—128 crore (equivalent to ₹159—204 crore or US$20–26 million in 2023),[2][3] and was remade into Telugu as Khaidi No. 150 (2017), starring Chiranjeevi.

A recipient of various accolades, the film won three out of seven nominations at the Filmfare Awards South, including the Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil. It won four SIIMA (including Best Film) and two Vijay Awards (Favourite Film and Favourite Director for Murugadoss). Additionally, the film won an IIFA Utsavam and Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards each, three Edison Awards and a nomination for Best Social Awareness at the Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards before eventually losing to Sigaram Thodu (2014).[9]

  1. ^ "Eros International's big plans involve Superstar Rajinikanth, Ilayathalapathy Vijay, and Thala Ajith". Behindwoods. 20 April 2014. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Kaththi sets new Box Office records". India Today. 25 October 2014. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Hindustan Times ₹100 crore". 19 December 2014. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  4. ^ "NDTV ₹128 crore". Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Kaththi". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 4 July 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Revs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (30 December 2014). "2014: a year in the movies". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.