Retro

<p>In 1960s , a gangster’s wife, Sandhya, adopts an orphaned infant with a spear-shaped scar on his stomach. She names him Paarivel “Paari” Kannan, raising him lovingly while her husband, Thilagan, refuses to acknowledge the boy. After Sandhya’s death, a teenage Paari meets Rukmini at their mothers’ funeral rites in . On their train back to Thoothukudi, when Thilagan is ambushed, Paari saves him, earning Thilagan’s reluctant respect. By 1989, Thilagan remarries and has a biological son. Paari remains loyal to him and his criminal empire, though his new wife sees him only as a henchman. Reuniting with Rukmini, now a veterinarian, Paari falls deeply in love. After four years of courtship, in 1993 they plan to marry. At their wedding, Paari announces that he is leaving the life of crime. However, Thilagan accuses him of sabotaging a high-stakes arms deal—code-named “Gold Fish”—involving weapons smuggled for a prime ministerial candidate, Dharman. Paari admits guilt but withholds the location of the cache. Enraged, Thilagan tries to kill Rukmini, but Paari retaliates, severing his hand in the process. He is immediately arrested and imprisoned. Heartbroken by his return to violence, Rukmini leaves him and moves to an undisclosed location. 5 Years later in 1998, Paari is promised early release if he fights for a secretive cult. Learning Rukmini is in the , he escapes custody and heads there. To win her back, he kidnaps Chaplin Laali, a comedic therapist, and impersonates him. The real Laali, under duress, plays along. On the island, Paari performs as Laali and reunites with Rukmini, who is unaware of his disguise. The island is ruled by the tyrannical Lord Milton and his son, Freddie, who abuses animals and harasses Rukmini. When Freddie goes too far, Paari violently attacks him. A humiliated Freddie hires a cult leader to capture Paari. Recognizing him, the cult leader informs his boss, Michael, and alerts Thilagan. Michael runs a deadly cult called “Rubber Cult” with gladiator-style games between the island’s rich and the enslaved poor. The matches are rigged, and the losers are fed to crocodiles by Rajavel, Michael’s father. Michael exposes Paari’s true identity during a comedy show, shocking Rukmini, who walks away in disbelief. Paari accepts her decision and joins the cult. In his first match, Paari’s brutal skill stuns the audience. Michael sees him as a star and throws a party to celebrate. There, a drunken Paari lets slip the secret location of the Gold Fish cache. Later, when attacked by enslaved locals, they spot his scar and realize he is the prophesied child from a local legend—one destined to return a sacred spear of Jada Muni and kill Rajavel. They reveal Paari’s true identity: he was born to Pasupathy and Lakshmi, islanders who had twins—Paari, who was actually named Jada Muni by his biological parents, and a sister. Fearing Rajavel’s wrath, they smuggled Paari to India. He was adopted by Sandhya after his protector was killed. Now aware of his roots, Paari meets his real father, Pasupathy.<br /> The next day, Paari returns to the arena, fighting for the poor. After winning, he names Michael and Rajavel the weakest—condemning them to death. Paari defeats Michael in a brutal duel but spares his life, humiliating him instead. Paari then storms Rajavel’s estate. Rajavel feels insulted of going to be killed by his slaves, so he shoots himself and dies and Paari reclaims the sacred spear. At Jada Muni’s temple, Paari returns the spear to the astrologer and reunites with Pallavi and his twin sister. Rukmini, finally understanding the full truth, reconciles with Paari. He promises her that he has found his dhammam—his true path—and renounced violence. But the peace is brief. Thilagan, Michael, and Freddie arrive at the temple to kill them. They are shocked to find Paari’s family and the islanders aiming bazookas at them—revealed to be the long-lost Gold Fish weapons. Thilagan realizes Paari outwitted them all. Paari calmly tells his mother to fire. Lakshmi, now empowered, fires a warning shot, forcing their surrender. The next day, the islanders rejoice in their newfound freedom as Paari and Rukmini finally marry, fulfilling both prophecy and love. While working on in mid 2021, director had narrated a script to which impressed the actor. However, since the script required extensive pre-production and filming time, they decided to proceed with another script that also impressed him. Although they had finalised to collaborate back then, both of their respective prior commitments delayed the collaboration. Two-and-a-half years later, on 28 March 2024, Subbaraj announced through his social media accounts that he would join hands with Suriya for his next directorial venture after (2023). The project would be jointly funded by Subbaraj’s and Suriya’s banner. Suriya and would be credited as producers, while Stone Bench’s main producer Kaarthikeyan Santhanam would be credited as co-producer along with Rajsekar Pandian, the head of 2D Entertainment. The project was kept confidential by the makers until its announcement. The film was made on a budget of crore. with the tagline , production was set to begin after the actor completed his film with which was then known as . However, a few days later, it was reported that, since the start of Kongara’s film would take a few more months, they were planning to complete the shooting of the project in the meantime. The film was touted to be as a film. But Subbaraj later clarified that the film, set in 1990s, is a which also involves major . The film’s official title was revealed on the occasion of (25 December 2024). “It was my long-time wish to make a proper love story. And when I got a chance to make one with and , I became so excited. It definitely involves a lot of action”. Subbaraj had met Suriya prior to the shooting of and narrated a one-liner, which the latter requested to develop. It took him several months for the writing and pre-production. Charukesh Sekar and Sritharan Someetharan collaborated with Subbaraj on the script discussion. After the release of , Subbaraj narrated the entire script to the actor. The dialogues for the and -dubbed versions were written by Hanumaan Choudary and Mohan Nair. A was announced by the makers in late April 2024. On the occasion of his birthday (15 May), was announced as the film’s composer by the production house, in his eighth collaboration with the director. Two weeks later, the team announced that Shreyaas Krishna would handle the cinematography, in his third collaboration with Subbaraj after (2021) and (2022). In addition to Shreyaas Krishna, the technical crew of art directors and Mayapandi, editor Shafique Mohamed Ali, stunt choreographer Kecha Khamphakdee and costume designer Praveen Raja were announced the same day. In May 2024, the team shot the promotional video for the film for nearly three days. Prior to the commencement of the first schedule, the team had constructed a set at located in , for filming an action sequence. Suriya would sport two different looks in the film. One with a and hair, and another with a trimmed beard, mustache, and a shorter hairdo. In mid-May, was reported to play the female lead opposite Suriya, marking her first film with both Suriya and Subbaraj. Her inclusion was confirmed on 1 June by the production house. The film would be her third Tamil film after (2012) and (2022). Hegde reportedly received a remuneration between (US$470,000) and (US$590,000). Subbaraj revealed to that he cast her after being impressed with her performance in (2022). Following a look test, she began learning for her role. Aavni, daughter of actress , plays the younger version of Hegde’s character. After initially being reported as part of the cast, and were confirmed during the film’s preliminary shooting, with both playing important roles. The former’s son, , was also reported to be part of the cast after being spotted during the shooting, thus reportedly marking his second on-screen collaboration with his father, following (2003), after 12 years. However, Rajsekar Pandian denied Kalidas Jayaram’s inclusion in the film, stating, “Kalidas came on the last day shoot of Jayaram sir when the team cut a cake that has been misinterpreted.” would also play a role in the film, marking his fourth collaboration with Suriya after (1997), (2010) and (2021). Vidhu, who portrayed the role of Shettani in Subbaraj’s , would play the role of an antagonist in . Avinash Raghudevan, , , , , Thamizh, , , Sandeep Raj and were cast in prominent roles. While Karunakaran and George would make their respective fourth and second collaboration with Subbaraj after (2012), (2014), (2016) and respectively, Singampuli would make his fourth collaboration with Suriya after (2003), (2004) and (2005). would return to after a gap of twelve years with this film. Although Kannada actor was approached for a prominent role, he could not sign it due to scheduling conflicts. joined the production in August 2024, and shot for the “Love Detox”. began with the first schedule on 2 June 2024 at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Suriya, Hegde and Jayaram arrived at the location the previous day. Firstly, the team shot action sequences, choreographed by Kecha Khamphakdee, at a specially erected set. A song shoot featuring Suriya and Hegde was also held in early June 2024. joined the first schedule on 22 June 2024, while filming happening at . A dance number featuring Suriya and Hegde, choreographed by was completed in late-June 2024. On 28 June, Joju George shared a video of himself on a boat in Andaman Island, revealing he joined the sets. The first schedule ended on 4 July 2024 at Andaman. The second schedule began on 26 July at . This schedule was reportedly held for 15–20 days, where the team had shot few scenes at the scenic backdrop in . A dance number featuring the lead cast with numerous dancers was shot in late-July 2024 at Ooty. Later it was reported that after ending the Ooty schedule, the team moved to on 31 July, which turned to be false. On 7 August, Suriya sustained a head injury on the sets, while filming an action sequence at Nawanagar Palace, Ooty. Although, Rajsekar Pandian tweeted that it was a minor injury, Suriya took a break from filming for a few days for recovery, which resulted in the filming being halted. On 14 August, Suriya returned to the sets to resume shooting, with several and participating. Shooting reportedly happened at three hotels in the particular schedule. A song featuring Shriya Saran was shot in this schedule. This schedule was completed on 17 August 2024, with 70% of the film’s shooting has been completed with this schedule. By mid-August, Jayaram completed filming for his portions. A day later, on 19 August 2024, the next schedule was intended to begin at in for the two-day shoot; but was delayed. The schedule began with filming in area, , at Idukki on 8 September 2024. The Kerala schedule, which went on for two days, ended on 9 September with a night shoot. The team erected a jail set in office in Chennai in mid-September for the schedule, which included a song (“Kannadi Poove”) being intended to be shot. Rehearsals for the song, choreographed by Sherif was done in later days. The final schedule began in late-September in Chennai, with Suriya trimming his beard and moustache for this schedule. Hegde had completed shooting for her portions by 24 September. This schedule, which took place for two weeks, was completed by 6 October 2024, resulting in the film’s principal photography being . A 15-minutes sequence involving action, song (” “) and drama scenes were also shot while filming. The sequence in the title teaser featuring Suriya and Hegde was shot at night in , where 100-200 clay oil lamps were used to create a twilight effect. 80% of the film was reportedly shot on sets. After filming was completed, the film entered into an extensive phase. Subbaraj revealed that he will spend more time for the film’s post-production, resulting in the film’s release plans for (14 January 2025) being deferred. Shafique Mohamed Ali renewed his association with Subbaraj after and handled the editing for the film. The film’s were done by Lorven Studios and was by S. Hariharasuthan. Suresh Ravi handled the , and . S. Alagiakoothan worked on and Suren G. handled the , and of the film. Santhosh worked on the film’s background score in November 2024. Joju George completed his dubbing by January 2025, while Hegde had completed her dubbing the following month. She dubbed for her own voice, the first time for a Tamil film. The final phase of post-production began by March 2025. Suriya completed dubbing for his portions in early-April 2025. The film’s final edit was ready by mid-April 2025 and was submitted to the (CBFC) that month. On 17 April 2025, the film received a from the CBFC, with a finalised runtime of 168 minutes (2 hours, 48 minutes) after few words and excessive violent scenes were censored. The music and background score are composed by , in his first collaboration with Suriya and eighth with Subbaraj. The audio rights of the film were bagged by . The first single “Kannadi Poove” was released on 13 February 2025. The second single titled ” ” was released on 21 March 2025. The third single “The One” was released on 12 April 2025. The film’s audio launch—which aimed to promote the music—took place at in on 18 April 2025. The album was split into , A-side consisting 6 tracks was released on 18 April 2025, B-side soundtrack consisting 5 tracks was released on 23 May 2025. The film’s announcement poster released on 28 March 2024 became the most viewed announcement poster for an Indian film in 24 hours on . On 2 June 2024, the makers unveiled the film’s “first shot” video, but the title was not revealed. It received a positive response and increased expectations for the film’s title reveal. Subsequently, the video was attached for theatrical screenings. Later, after ten days of its original release, the video was released on . Akhila Menon of noted “The one-of-a-kind video, which is a first-time attempt in , featured leading man Suriya in a never-seen-before avatar.” The film’s title was to be unveiled on Suriya’s birthday (23 July); however, a special promo was released on the aforementioned date, with no title revealed, but revealed that the title teaser is coming soon. It became the most viewed promo in less than 20 hours of its release. After receiving wider recognition, the glimpse was attached for theatrical screenings. On 22 November 2024, at the , Karthik announced that promotions for the film would begin from the following month. The title of the film was revealed on the occasion of Christmas (25 December) along with a teaser. It became the most watched Tamil title teaser in 24 hours with over 10 million views on YouTube. commented: “The 136-second teaser gives a glimpse into the world of , with a balance of blood shed action with romance. The video begins with Suriya having a conversation with Pooja Hedge, and hints that Joju George plays the father of the lead actor.” said, “What stands out in the teaser is Pooja’s ability to convey so much with just her eyes. There’s a deep, unspoken emotion that speaks volumes, even without dialogue.” Suhas Sistu, writing for , noted that “With powerful visuals, a gripping background score, and seamless editing, the teaser has garnered attention for its high production values.” Additionally, the title teaser managed to raise the already sky-high expectations for the film. Inspired by the teaser, the film’s composer Santhosh Narayanan had shot a promotional video with his father, to promote his concert tour at , , in June 2025. In February 2025, the teaser was attached to prints of in theatres. After its positive response, the teaser for the Telugu and Hindi-dubbed versions were released on the YouTube channels of T-Series on 7 February 2025. In March 2025, when the song ” ” was unveiled, the hook step, choreographed by and performed by Suriya and Hegde in the music video, quickly went viral, adding to the song’s popularity and becoming a social media sensation. Many people have recreated the hook step (signature step) by recording their own dance performances to the song and sharing these videos across social media platforms. The film team shot another version of the song with both Suriya and Hegde displaying joyful expressions and released it exclusively as a rehearsal video on 5 April. Later, the makers confirmed that the video was not part of the film and was shot and released solely for fans. The full song was played during the interval of re-release in theatres in April 2025. handled the publicity design for and the poster campaign was well received. Outdoor promotions for the film began in early January 2025, four months prior to the theatrical release. From February 2025, the makers began publishing a behind-the-scenes leading up to the film’s release. Exclusive stills from the film were released by on 9 April. As a part of the film’s promotion, the marketing team designed the film’s posters at the . Later, Fully Filmy launched the official of in April 2025. The film’s official trailer was released on 18 April 2025 at the film’s audio launch event, at in Chennai. The trailer cut was done by . Praising the trailer wrote, “The trailer showcases an intriguing blend of action, attitude, and atmosphere. Puthren’s editing lends a sharp, almost rhythmic pulse to the visuals, matching the energy of Suriya’s fiery character.” To promote the film’s Telugu version, a pre-release event was held on 26 April 2025 at JRC Convention, . Sithara Entertainments hosted the event, which also saw the attendance of to promoting their film (2025). On 27 April 2025, a pre-release event was held at . Over 1 lakh people arrived at the venue, setting a new record for the highest attendance ever. was theatrically released on 1 May 2025 in standard and formats, coinciding with . Apart from the original Tamil language, it was also released in the and languages. Initially, the film was planned for release on the weekend but was postponed to the summer (April–June) of 2025, as Subbaraj needed more time for post-production process. The film’s current release date was announced in January 2025. In the United Kingdom, the film released on the same day, with a rating by the for strong bloody violence, language and threat. Sakthi Film Factory acquired the distribution rights of the film in . acquired the and rights. Swagath Enterprises released the film in . acquired the theatrical rights for and under the banner. distributed the film in . AP International handled the acquisition for the overseas theatrical distribution rights. Home Screen Entertainment bought distribution rights of the film, while Ahimsa Entertainment and Boleyn Cinema acquired the distribution rights for . Prime Media acquired the distribution rights for the North America and released in Tamil and Telugu languages. DMY Creation distributed the film in . Lokah Entertainments distributed the film in , while Spacebox distributed the film across and Night ED Films distributed in . Over 3200 tickets were sold in UK on the first day of pre-bookings with a collection of 25,000 ( 34,246.58). Approximately 2 lakh tickets (excluding fan shows) were sold within 24 hours of the start of advance booking in Tamil Nadu alone. The sale rate was the highest ever for a Tamil film in the year, beating the record held by . Booking sites of multiplex players crashed down due to high traffic. The film’s digital streaming rights were acquired by for (US$9.5 million). The film began streaming on Netflix from 30 May 2025 in Tamil and dubbed versions of Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages. In June 2025, Karthik announced plans to expand into a 4–5 episode limited series for a streaming service, with new scenes and deeper content. In India, was released alongside , and . grossed (US$5.4 million) worldwide on its opening day. The film grossed (US$2.0 million) in Tamil Nadu, becoming the highest first-day gross for Suriya at the state, surpassing his previous film (2024). The film had also the biggest opening for a Tamil film in 2025 in other states, surpassing . debuted in third place at the worldwide box office in its opening weekend. It grossed over (US$9.2 million) worldwide in its four days opening weekend, surpassing . In its first week, grossed over (US$12 million) worldwide, becoming Suriya’s fourth film to do so. The same day, the film entered into . The film’s commercial success led the team to donate (US$1.2 million) from the profit to the educational NGO . The film collected (US$18 million) in its second week and grossed over (US$24 million) by third week. crossed the (US$30 million) crore mark at the box office worldwide in the 27 days of its release, becoming his first film to enter worldwide. The film concluded its theatrical run with worldwide gross estimated to be between 97–250 crore. It became Suriya’s highest-grossing film in his career. received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Suriya and Pooja Hegde’s performance, Subbaraj’s direction and storytelling, music, action sequences and visuals, but some noted issues with the pacing. Krishna Selvaseelan of gave 4/5 stars and wrote “Subbaraj offers the audience old wine in an almost unrecognisably new bottle.” Goutham S of gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote ” delivers exactly what one would expect from a Karthik Subbaraj romantic film. With stellar performances by Suriya and Pooja Hegde, the movie blends action, romance, and humor in a way that feels fresh and unique.” M. Suganth of gave 3/5 and wrote “Karthik Subbaraj’s filmmaking flair, Suriya’s swag and Santhosh Narayanan’s foot-tapping songs make us overlook the indulgences of the second half and the misstep of the final 15 minutes.” Latha Srinivasan of gave 3/5 stars and wrote “Director Karthik Subbaraj has been someone who makes films that are a blend of genres, stylish and use music as a narrative tool. His latest film, , starring Suriya, follows this same pattern and presents the Kollywood star in an action avatar with a streak of romanticism and sentiments.” Pugazh Murugan of gave 3/5 stars and wrote “Suriya smiles and the people smile with him. is a unique mix of action, art, and soul.” Avinash Ramachandran of gave 3/5 stars and wrote “Suriya and Pooja Hegde are compelling in Karthik Subbaraj’s entertaining star vehicle that is made to serve a higher purpose, even if it goes around in circles.” Sushmitha Dey of gave 3/5 and wrote ” is a wild ride through love, loss, and lead bullets. If you’re in the mood for an emotional gangster drama with slick visuals, a killer soundtrack, and Suriya in top form, is worth the ticket. It’s not just a movie, it’s a mood.” Anusha Sundar of gave 3/5 stars and wrote “Karthik Subbaraj makes an indulgent film where style, action and sentiment matter, but then the familiarity strikes.” Sajin Shrijith of gave 3/5 stars and wrote “Suriya brings the necessary pizzazz to Karthik Subbaraj’s tonally mismatched film.” gave 2.75/5 stars and wrote “It’s a solid comeback for Suriya and a stylish, emotional ride that proves why he’s one of Tamil cinema’s top stars. could be a game-changer for Suriya, reaffirming his star power and acting range.” Janani K of gave 2/5 stars and wrote “Suriya, Karthik’s overstuffed film stumbles between eras and ideas.” Rajasekar S of wrote “Suriya stuns while Pooja Hegde puts out her career-best”. He further wrote that “Karthik Subbaraj subtly conveys multiple things in the mainstream format through his characters”. Praising single-shot sequence including the song ” “, he called “it’s a monumental achievement”.</p>