Rotten Tomatoes
Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Kaithi

Play trailer Poster for Kaithi 2019 2h 25m Action Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 93% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Dilli, an ex-convict, tries to meet his daughter, but faces obstacles due to a planned drug raid by Inspector Bejoy.
Watch on Prime Video Stream Now

Where to Watch

Kaithi

Critics Reviews

View More
M Suganth The Times of India Oct 9, 2023
3.5/5
If there is a fault, it is that the film feels overlong for its genre, with a couple of action blocks getting over-indulgent. But when it is action that we have signed up for, we cannot complain much about that. Go to Full Review
Karthik Kumar Hindustan Times Oct 9, 2023
This Karthi starrer is an action film with a soul and a purpose. While it still caters to the masses, it is nothing like a crowd-pleasing commercial film. Go to Full Review
Srivatsan S The Hindu Oct 9, 2023
Lo and behold, this Karthi-Lokesh Kanagaraj joyride is by far the best action thriller in Tamil cinema since Theeran Adhigaram Ondru. Go to Full Review
Baradwaj Rangan Film Companion Oct 9, 2023
There's a fantastic "mass" scene, set around a swimming pool, where the protagonist stuffs himself with biriyani — it's a stunning few minutes of a purely physical performance. Go to Full Review
Sreedhar Pillai Firstpost Oct 9, 2023
3.5/5
Kaithi is Kamal Haasan’s Virumaandi meets Bruce Willis’s Die Hard. In fact, Lokesh has acknowledged both the films in the credits. Go to Full Review
Mythily Ramachandran Gulf News (UAE) Feb 19, 2020
With its engrossing screenplay, and hinged around a little girl, 'Kaithi' leaves you teary eyed. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Cinema S @cinema_sensei Aug 27, 2026 Lokesh Kanagaraj crafted a tight, high-stakes action film that never slows down. Eliminating standard masala distractions lets the night-long siege unfold with pure intensity. Karthi’s performance makes every fight feel heavy, anchored by his desperate push to reach his daughter. Outside of a few CGI moments in the chaotic climax, it’s a brilliant, gripping ride. See more Arijit B @RT35999732 May 28, 2026 Undeniably one of the hardest film I've ever seen. From the cinematography to the score, the editing, even the fighting choreography was one of the best I've seen to come out of India. This film deserves all the love in the world. Perfect See more Venkatesh K @RT55594571 Feb 16, 2026 Good movie of LCU chapter 1 karthi and lokesh kanagaraj good songs are good I rate a 3.5/5. See more S K @RT70334354 Sep 4, 2025 Kaithi is a masterpiece,who didn't seen you must see the movie See more Anirudh K @RT11729572 Jun 18, 2025 Thats Called Absolute Infinity Aura Cinema 🎥 See more Adarsh T @Adarsh0903 Feb 7, 2025 Movie: Kaithi Genre: Action/Thriller Starring: Karthi, Arjun das Budget: ₹25 crore Box office : est. ₹ 105 crore Verdict: Blockbuster. Budget: Synopsis Kaithi is a tense, impressively shot action thriller. Kaithi Movie Review: A pure genre film minus the frill Kaithi Story: A prisoner on parole, who’s on his way to meet his daughter, is enlisted by an injured police officer to protect a few cops. With the entire lot of gangsters in the place after them, can the prisoner save the day? Kaithi Review: Kaithi begins with a superbly economical setup. A team of cops, headed by Bejoy (Narain), has confiscated a record amount of cocaine, which is hidden in a secret cell under the commissioner’s office. The drug mafia manages to put almost every police officer in the place under sedation by spiking their drinks. The injured Bejoy, has to enlist Dilli, a life-term prisoner who has just stepped out of jail on parole and is hoping to finally meet the daughter he has never seen, to save the situation. Meanwhile, a few college students find themselves stranded in the commissioner’s office with a line constable for company, and prevent the gangsters from breaking in and rescuing their boss. Lokesh Kanagaraj gives us all this in the first 20 minutes of Kaithi, a tense, impressively shot (Sathyan Sooryan is the cinematographer) action thriller. The director gives us a pure genre film minus the frills, like songs and romance, that we are used to in Tamil cinema. Even though we get two hours of action scenes, we hardly feel exhausted (the excellent action choreography is by Anbariv). Like in a video game, Dilli has to cross challenges of varying difficulty as he transports the cops to safety. We get different kinds of stunts – a chase, a couple of fist fights and just when they seem to be getting monotonous, a glorious shootout. The fact that the entire film happens in the night gives it a unique flavour, as we are unsure what danger lurks in the dark. Lokesh also comes up with an interesting bunch of characters, like the temperamental brother of the gangster (Arjun Dass), the intrepid constable (George Mariyan), the resourceful students, the spies in both the camps and the expectant daughter. The performances are solid all around. Narain lends the right amount of vulnerability, Dheena, as the hapless young lorry owner, adds some moments of levity, while Karthi, whose beefed up look feels like Dilli could be a slightly older version of Paruthiveeran, puts up a muscular performance. He also moves you in the scene where he narrates his past in a lengthy shot. If there is a fault, it is that the film feels overlong for its genre, with a couple of action blocks getting over-indulgent. But when it is action that we have signed up for, we cannot complain much about that. See more Read all reviews
Kaithi

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING
Darbar 50% 48% Darbar Watchlist Saaho 8% 55% Saaho Watchlist TRAILER for Saaho Final Score 71% 37% Final Score Watchlist TRAILER for Final Score We Die Young % 35% We Die Young Watchlist TRAILER for We Die Young Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Dilli, an ex-convict, tries to meet his daughter, but faces obstacles due to a planned drug raid by Inspector Bejoy.
Director
Lokesh Kanagaraj
Producer
S.R. Prabhu, S.R. Prakashbabu
Screenwriter
Lokesh Kanagaraj
Production Co
Dream Warrior Pictures, Vivekananda Pictures
Genre
Action, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
Tamil
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 10, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA)
$358.1K
Runtime
2h 25m
Join The Newsletter Join The Newsletter Cookie Settings