Thalaivaa

Thalaivaa (transl. The Leader) is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by A. L. Vijay (credited as Vijay) and produced by Vendhar Movies. The film stars Vijay in the titular role, alongside Amala Paul, Ragini Nandwani, Sathyaraj, Santhanam, Abhimanyu Singh, Nassar and Rajeev Pillai. In the film, a dancer in Australia takes over his father's duty as a crime boss in Mumbai after his death. The film, which commenced production in November 2012 in Mumbai, was released on 8 August 2013 on the occasion of Eid-ul Fitr. The film received mostly positive reviews from the critics. The film upon its early release was successful at the overseas box office, and also successful in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka box office. Due to opposition from the ruling AIADMK as insisted by the then Chief minister J Jayalalithaa, the film had a delayed release in Tamil Nadu on 20 August 2013 and its performance was affected at the Tamil Nadu box office. The film went on to be remade in Punjabi as Sardar Saab in 2017. It was also screened in Japan in 2020.