Kaithi (2019 film)
Kaithi () is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. It is produced by S. R. Prakash Babu and S. R. Prabhu under Dream Warrior Pictures and co-produced by Tiruppur Vivek under Vivekananda Pictures. It stars Karthi in the lead role, along with Narain, Arjun Das, Harish Uthaman, George Maryan, and Dheena in pivotal roles. It serves as the first instalment in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe. 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. Lokesh initially worked on two scripts after the success of Maanagaram (2017), which he scrapped working on due to issues regarding the extensive research and casting process, until he came up with a news article about an ex-prisoner's life. He initially wanted Mansoor Ali Khan to play the lead role, but during the writing process, Karthi was demanded to play the lead, with the scale of the budget being increased further. Principal photography began in December 2018, and was completed by August 2019. The film was entirely shot at night, without any daytime sequences taking place during the shoot. It is a songless film, with the background score being composed by Sam C. S. The cinematography and editing were handled by Sathyan Sooryan and Philomin Raj, respectively. Kaithi was released on October 25, 2019, ahead of the Diwali festival. It opened to positive reviews from critics. Following the positive reception, the film became a box-office success, grossing 105 crore. The film was further selected for official screening at the International Indian Film Festival Toronto (IIFFT) in August 2020 and had won two Ananda Vikatan, three Norway Tamil Film Festival, SIIMA, and four Zee Cine Awards, respectively. The story is the first installment of the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU), which follows the dismantling of drug trafficking. Kaithi is followed up in Vikram (2022) with Narain reprising his role as Bejoy, while George Maryan reprises his role as Napoleon in Leo (2023), also directed by Lokesh. A sequel, titled Kaithi 2, is in development. Plot 
The caretakers at an orphanage inform a young girl named Amudha that an important person will meet her the next day, and she waits anxiously. Meanwhile, Inspector Bejoy and his team catch a van smuggling 900 kilos of cocaine. The drugs and the criminals smuggling them are locked up at the commissioner's office. The syndicate's kingpin, Adaikalam, a wanted, dangerous smuggler in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, remains unknown. Adaikalam's brother, Anbu, plans to capture and kill the police officers involved in the bust and retrieve the smuggled drugs. The entire city's top ranked police officials fall unconscious after consuming spiked alcohol at the IG's retirement party. However, since Bejoy was on medication, he avoided the spiked drink and attempts to save his colleagues without attracting media attention at the insistence of the IG. Bejoy convinces Dilli, an ex-prisoner detained for looking suspicious and being the only one who can drive a truck, to help him save the officers' lives by threatening him that he would not let him meet his daughter Amudha the following morning, with the help of a truck borrowed from Kamatchi, a caterer present at the party. Dilli, Bejoy, and Kamatchi load the unconscious officers into the truck and try their best to get them to the hospital quickly. Anbu announces a massive bounty as a reward for catching the police officers, and gangsters from Anbu's gangs try to hunt down Bejoy and his team. Paalpandi, a corrupt cop (who Stephen Raj, Zonal Head of Narcotics Division, recruited), pretends to be unconscious while giving information about the truck's location to the gangs. Bejoy orders Constable Napoleon and a group of college students, detained due to drunk driving, to close all the possible exits and try to keep Anbu's gangsters outside the commissioner's office, preventing them from taking the drugs and freeing Adaikalam's men. Dilli, Bejoy, and Kamatchi come across the various gangs, but Dilli takes care of them brutally. As Napoloen starts getting nervous, Bejoy instructs him to negotiate a deal with the captured Adaikalam's men. Napoleon makes one of the men call Anbu, who agrees to release the prisoners in exchange for his and the students' safety. Surprisingly, Anbu agrees. However, Bejoy realizes Adaikalam himself is among the captured and instructs Napoleon to cancel the deal. Anbu climbs onto the roof and breaks into the building, but the students subdue him and tie him up. Dilli and Kamatchi manage to transfer the unconscious officers to a school bus from the hospital and make their way to the commissioner's office. However, they stumble across a massive armed gang led by Tips, Anbu's right hand man. Paalpandi, pretending to have recovered from the effects of the alcohol, stabs Dilli in the back. Bejoy gets beaten up and Tips kills Ajaz Ahmed, who was Bejoy's mole in Adaikalam's gang. Dilli manages to recover in the nick of time and finishes all of them off while rescuing Bejoy and Kamatchi. Meanwhile, Anbu's men manage to catch one of the students at the commissioner's office and kill him upon Anbu's order. Infuriated, Napoleon bludgeons and renders Anbu unconscious with a fire extinguisher, to which Adaikalam swears he will kill all of them. Dilli, Bejoy, and Kamatchi make it to the building. Dilli alone enters the building through a secret passage and sends the students through the tunnel while he and Napoleon go to burn the cocaine. The duo find a confiscated M134 minigun. Instead of just burning the drugs, Napoleon decides to eliminate Adaikalam's gang to prevent them from ruining innocent children's lives. They reach the ground floor as the goons break in. Dilli uses the gun to kill Anbu's gang outside the building. The doctor resuscitates all the police officers and Stephen Raj gets arrested. Bejoy thanks Dilli and promises to give him and his daughter a good life. Nalini, Dilli's probation officer, brings Amudha to the spot, and they meet with tears of joy. Back in the prison cell, while one of his goon yells in anguish at the stranger who came in and ruined their operation, Adaikalam responds that the man is no stranger and implies that he knows Dilli. Dilli, Amudha, and Kamatchi are then seen walking on the highway, intending to lead a new life. 