Jailer is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film written and directed by Nelson Dilipkumar. Produced by Kalanithi Maran under Sun Pictures, the film stars Rajinikanth as a retired jailer who sets out to apprehend an eccentric idol smuggler threatening his family. The cast also includes Ramya Krishnan, Vinayakan, Tamannaah Bhatia, Sunil, Vasanth Ravi, Yogi Babu and Mirnaa in supporting roles. Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar and Jackie Shroff play guest appearances.
The film was officially announced in February 2022 under the working title Thalaivar 169, being the 169th film of Rajinikanth, while the official title was announced in June that year. Principal photography commenced in August 2022 in Chennai followed with schedules in Cuddalore, Hyderabad, Jaisalmer, Mangalore, Kerala and wrapped by early-June 2023. The music is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, with cinematography handled by Vijay Kartik Kannan and edited by R. Nirmal.
Jailer was released theatrically on 10 August 2023. The film received positive reviews from critics and emerged as the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2023, sixth highest-grossing Indian film of 2023 and second highest-grossing Tamil film of all time. Additionally, the film received four nominations at the Filmfare Awards South, and won two Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, two IIFA Utsavam awards including Best Film, and two South Indian International Movie Awards including Best Film and Best Director for Nelson, all in the Tamil branch. A sequel, Jailer 2, is scheduled to release on 15 October 2026.
Plot
In Arakkonam, police discover a temple priest murdered and the temple idol has been stolen and replaced with a fake one.
"Tiger" Muthuvel Pandian lives in Tamil Nadu with his family. Muthuvel's son, ACP Arjun, is investigating Varman, an eccentric gangster based in Arakkonam, who smuggles idols of gods and sells them to overseas buyers. Arjun confronts Varman's henchman, Seenu, and demands to know Varman's whereabouts. While getting close to nabbing Varman, Arjun suddenly goes missing, and the police department covers this up by spreading word that he may have committed suicide due to the stress of the job.
Grieving the apparent loss of his son and partly blaming himself for raising him to be honest and fearless, Muthuvel goes after Seenu and murders him, disposing of the body by coercing a clueless local taxi driver, Vimal, into helping him. In retaliation, Varman's men attempt to kill Muthuvel's grandson, Rithvik, but Muthuvel saves him. Muthuvel tries to convince Varman to leave him and his family alone. However, Varman does not listen to him. Enraged, he decides to fight back.
First, Muthuvel blackmails a psychiatrist, S. Dhandapani, into providing asylum for his family. He then visits Narasimha, a reformed criminal living in Mandya, who loans him four sharpshooters. With the help of Narasimha's men, Muthuvel steals Varman's idols that were being smuggled and uses them to blackmail and humiliate Varman, who is about to kill his family. Varman retaliates by killing three of his men and hires a Bihari gangster named Kamdev to send people to kill Muthuvel and his family at his home. Still, Muthuvel and Narasimha's men finish them, with his family watching in fear. On discovering Varman's target to be Muthuvel, Kamdev reveals to him that Muthuvel was previously the ruthless and charismatic jailer of Tihar prison who disciplined criminals harshly but also helped them reform, thus gaining a massive network of allies, including Kamdev.
Muthuvel corners Varman in his base along with a hundred men sent by another former criminal, Sikandar Singh, but Varman reveals that Arjun is still alive and threatens to kill him. Both of them ultimately compromise: Varman will release Arjun in exchange for retrieving a famous antique crown currently secured in a temple in Mangalagiri. With a lot of thoughts, Muthuvel agrees to bring the crown, with Varman enforcing a condition that two of his men will be sent as spies with him 24/7 to Hyderabad, to which he agrees. Muthuvel plans a heist involving the actor Blast Mohan, a temple trustee, at a temple where they keep the crown. After various deceptions and with the help of a smuggler in Mumbai named Mathew, Muthuvel eventually comes into possession of the crown and sends it to Varman through Varman's men sent for the heist.
Varman frees Arjun, who reveals himself as a corrupt police officer wanting to be cut in on Varman's operations, willing to kill his father for money. However, the crown is fake and conceals a hidden camera, through which Muthuvel sees their entire conversation. Varman discovers that the crown is fake. Feeling enraged and betrayed, he kills his two men sent along with Muthuvel for the heist and attempts to kill Arjun, but Arjun manages to fight back and Muthuvel attacks Varman's hideout with Kamdev, Vimal, and his allies, slaughters Varman's men and kills Varman, while Narasimha protects Muthuvel's family and Mathew destroys Varman's smuggling operations. Later, Muthuvel asks Arjun to surrender, but Arjun refuses and attempts to kill him. At Muthuvel's signal, Narasimha's men shoot and kill Arjun while Muthuvel solemnly walks away, throwing away his chain containing Arjun's childhood tooth that he kept as a memento.
Cast
Adapted from the closing credits:
Development
During the filming of Master (2021) in late-2019, Lokesh Kanagaraj reportedly visited Rajinikanth at his residence in Chennai and discussed for a potential collaboration. The project, becoming Rajinikanth's 169 film was reportedly to be produced by Kamal Haasan's Raaj Kamal Films International. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and Rajinikanth's commitments to Annaatthe (2021) supposedly delayed the launch of the film and Lokesh decided to collaborate with Haasan on Vikram (2022).
In December 2021, Nelson Dilipkumar was reported to direct Rajinikanth's 169 film in his lead role, after finishing his commitments to Beast (2022). In February 2022, an article from The Times of India had reported that the actor had not finalised his next film and stated that the project with Nelson was reported to be false. However, on 10 February 2022, Sun Pictures officially announced that project under the working title Thalaivar 169. This also marks the first collaboration of Nelson with Rajinikanth.
The project was planned to be filmed across various locations within a span of five to six months. Due to the subpar critical reception for Beast where Nelson was criticised for his writing, there were speculations that he was dropped from the project and would be replaced with another director. However, the producers dismissed the rumours and reaffirmed Nelson's involvement in the film. The film's official title Jailer was announced on 17 June 2022. Rajinikanth received a salary of ₹110 crore as an advance prior to the release.
Pre-production
Nelson began writing the film's script in April 2022 and completed writing the first half within two months. While K. S. Ravikumar was reported to assist Nelson in the scriptwriting, the official poster revealed Nelson as the sole writer, dismissing those reports. Speaking at the Film Companion Directors Adda 2023 roundtable, Nelson felt that one of the main challenges was getting people to accept Rajinikanth playing his age as most of the industry insiders refuted this idea. But Nelson convinced them and also felt being slightly confident at times that it would work. He also added that he spent a month to come up with the idea for the interval sequence, where he would show a cool demeanor and set the character to be more interesting, a contrast from Rajinikanth's films.
Nelson retained the crew members from his previous films, which included cinematographer Vijay Kartik Kannan who worked with him on Doctor (2021), music composer Anirudh Ravichander, editor R. Nirmal, production designer D. R. K. Kiran, action choreographer Stun Siva, dance choreographer Jani Master, costume designers Pallavi Singh and Muthul Hafeez, and publicity designer Kabilan Chelliah. D. Ramesh Kuchirayar was the production controller, and Raja Sridhar and Sembian Sivakumar were the executive producers.
Prior to the commencement of the first schedule, the team constructed a set at the Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, where major portions were being planned to be predominantly shot there. Test shoots for the film took place in late July 2022 at Chennai. Prominent stylist Aalim Hakim designed the looks and character sketches for Rajinikanth, while Venket Ram photographed the promotional stills.
Casting
In April 2022, Ramya Krishnan was reported to be a part of the film. That May, there were reports suggesting that Kannada actor Shiva Rajkumar would be seen in a pivotal role, before he was officially confirmed as a part of the cast, the following month; It marks Shiva Rajkumar's debut in Tamil cinema. That June month, Redin Kingsley who acted in Nelson's previous films speculated on being involved in the film, but undisclosed on which role he would play, before he was officially a part of the cast.
In early August, Vasanth Ravi was confirmed to be part of the film. The same month, Krishnan confirmed her participation, reuniting with Rajinikanth after 24 years since Padayappa (1999). She recalled her experiences on working with the actor on Padayappa, and she disclosed that her character's name does not recall her name Neelambari from the film, adding "Don't come in expecting a Padayappa-Neelambari romance; these are two different characters, but Nelson has definitely managed to create a new kind of magic with them." Yogi Babu was reported to play a role in the film which was confirmed by the production house on late-August.
Malayalam actor Vinayakan was cast as the film's main antagonist Varman. Vasanth Ravi recalled that Mammootty was the original choice for Varman, but the team felt that the character would not suit the actor's stature; they ultimately decided against casting him. Mirnaa Menon was cast as Vasanth Ravi's wife, and said she had "no second thoughts" about doing the film. Harish Roy was initially offered a role in the film but refused it due to health issues. On 6 January 2023, it was announced that Mohanlal would be acting in the film in a cameo role. Almost two weeks later, Sunil and Tamannaah Bhatia were announced as part of the cast for brief roles. In February 2023, Jackie Shroff was announced to be a part of the film. While Sivakarthikeyan was speculated to play a role in the film, the actor confirmed that he was never approached.
On 4 May 2023, a video that revealed the film's official release date was unveiled which revealed the remaining cast members: Nagendra Babu, Jaffer Sadiq, Kishore, Billy Muralee, Sugunthan, Karate Karthi, Arshad, G. Marimuthu, Rithvik, Saravanan, Aranthangi Nisha, Mahanadi Shankar and Makarand Deshpande amongst others.
Filming
Principal photography was initially intended to commence on 3 August in Hyderabad. However, the launch of the film was indefinitely delayed due to a strike in Hyderabad which was expected to last at least three weeks. Filming ultimately began on 22 August in Chennai. A special set resembling a police station was constructed in a film city in Chennai where few sequences intended to be shot there. According to cinematographer Vijay Kartik Kannan, a set that resembling houses from the 1990s was constructed for the principal character's household and where most of the film's first half is set. The month-long schedule for the film was completed in Chennai on late September. Afterwards, the team moved to Cuddalore for filming a brief schedule with Rajinikanth and Babu.
By November 2022, 50 percent of the film had been completed with three action sequences to be shot under the supervision of action director Stun Siva. On that month, Shivarajkumar joined the film's shooting schedule where he would shoot for his portions within 4–5 days. The team then moved to Chennai, for filming crucial sequences at the Adityaram Studios in Chennai. After a brief break, in January 2023, the team headed to Hyderabad for filming a major schedule with Rajinikanth and the ensemble cast. At the end of the month, the team moved to Jaisalmer for filming an action sequence which continued for 10 days. Shortly afterwards, the team moved to Mangalore for a brief schedule with Shivarajkumar also participating. A major sequence featuring Rajinikanth, Shivarajkumar and Sadiq was filmed at the Pilikulaj Gutthu, which was prominent for filming Kantara (2022). This schedule concluded on 22 February 2023.
A week later, the team commenced filming a major action sequence in Chennai in March 2023. By the end of the month, it was reported that only 15 days of shooting is to be completed, with scenes featuring Rajinikanth to be canned within 10 days. The climax of the film was shot at Athirappilly Falls, Chalakudy in Kerala. While Rajinikanth had completed his portions during mid-April 2023, he however returned for a short schedule which was set to be filmed during late-May 2023. The song "Kaavaalaa" was filmed at this schedule featuring Bhatia and Rajinikanth, amongst others, and was completed on 1 June 2023, which meant that principal photography has been wrapped.
Post-production
Post-production began on mid-June 2023, with Vinayakan dubbing his portions for the film first. Shivarajkumar dubbed for his portions in Tamil-language, the first time he did so. Rajinikanth then dubbed for his portions, after his commitments for filming Lal Salaam (2024). Anirudh began re-recording the film's background score during mid-July 2023.
The film was sent to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in late-July 2023, with a runtime of 169 minutes. According to editor Nirmal, the film had an additional few seconds of Rajinikanth smoking a cigar in the climax sequence and the camera was aimed close to the actor holding the cigarette but had to be edited from the film adhering with the CBFC's guidelines.
Music
The music is composed by Anirudh Ravichander in his third collaboration with Rajinikanth, after Petta (2019) and Darbar (2020) and fourth collaboration with Nelson after Kolamaavu Kokila (2018), Doctor (2021), and Beast (2022). The first single titled "Kaavaalaa" was released on 6 July 2023. The second single titled "Hukum – Thalaivar Alappara" was released on 17 July 2023. The third single titled "Jujubee" was released on 26 July 2023. The album featuring 8 tracks was released on 28 July 2023, at the audio launch event held at Jawarhalal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.
Marketing
The film's first look poster was released on 22 August 2022. On 17 November, a behind-the-scenes video that documented the film's production was released through the production house's social media handles. On 12 December, coinciding Rajinikanth's birthday, the makers released a teaser that introduced Rajinikanth's character Muthuvel Pandian. A critic from Film Companion South noted that "the video oozes vintage Rajinikanth eccentricities, including his signature sitting pose in silhouette, his characteristic walk and the superstar name card. And just when we think Muthuvel Pandian, a bespectacled middle-aged jailer, is like any other person going about his routine, he takes out a sickle from the dark, indicating that we're up for some explosive action." The film's release date was announced with a teaser that revealed the film's supporting cast on 4 May 2023.
Following the release of the song "Kaavaalaa" on 6 July, the hook step performed by Bhatia in the song went viral on social media which resulted in numerous recreations. The song, along with "Hukum – Thalaivar Alappara" and Rajinikanth's speech at the film's audio launch added to the film's hype, as opined by theatre owners. On 2 August 2023, the film's trailer subtitled Jailer Showcase was released. Reviewing the trailer, Filmfare stated that "The swag-filled Jailer showcase features Rajinikanth in an intense avatar as he fights off bad guys and gets into action". Richa Mukherjee of NDTV stated "We are no stranger to the superstar's impeccable acting skills, but the trailer gives us glimpses of him engaging in some stunts, leaving us in awe." However, the absence of Tamannaah, Mohanlal and Shiva Rajkumar in the trailer had been noted by fans.
Two days later, the trailer was screened at the Times Square in Manhattan, New York. A limited-edition bottle featuring the stills from the film was unveiled by the packaged water company Bisleri.
Theatrical
Jailer released theatrically on 10 August 2023. The film was originally scheduled to be released in April 2023 but was moved to its current date due to the delay in production. Initially, the film's Hindi-dubbed version was not to be released in theatres following the underperformance of the Tamil films in North India, while it also clashed with Gadar 2 and OMG 2, on the same weekend. But the Hindi version was released in limited theatres.
Critical response
Jailer received positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 50% of 8 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10.
Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com wrote: "Jailer simultaneously is and isn't a typical Rajinikanth vehicle. It's more self-conscious and more committed than some of his other recent vehicles, as far as reconciling the tonal whiplash banked into the Indian cinema's kitchen sink, mass-audience-minded masala style." Sruthi Ganapathy Raman of Film Companion South wrote "the most exciting part about Jailer is its exploration of how far Muthuvel will go to preserve his sense of justice. We wish this wistful side of Rajinikanth — that comes quite late and fleetingly— could’ve been explored with some more time. But that's not the film Jailer wants to be. It is the kind of film that quite happily declares to us that whatever type of dinosaur Rajinikanth may be, he is never the type to get extinct."
Kirubhakar Purushothaman of The Indian Express rated three-and-a-half out of five and wrote "[the] Nelson Dilipkumar film is Rajinikanth's version of Kamal Haasan's Vikram, but with a twist. Saying that doesn't take away anything from this fun-filled entertainer." Divya Nair of Rediff rated the film three-and-a-half out of five and stated that "Jailer is carefully written for the theatre audience who should ideally whistle or hoot during the key moments of the film or simply attempt to complete the punch dialogues during the calculated pauses to fully elevate its entertainment value." Manoj Kumar of OTTPlay also gave the same rating and wrote "Jailer is a highly entertaining crowd-pleaser. Nothing path-breaking but it is sure to become an enjoyable delight for the masses."
Gopinath Rajendran of The Hindu wrote "Jailer might be far from perfect, but with the towering presence of Rajinikanth standing tall along with Nelson's fortified writing, this is a commendable comeback for both the actor and filmmaker." Sidharth MP of WION wrote that "Jailer is an entertaining film that offers glimpses of the vintage Rajini and the contemporary Rajini, ably assisted by cameos by Mohanlal, Jackie Shroff and Shiva Rajkumar." Sridevi S of The Times of India rated three out of five and wrote "[Nelson] is back with his signature style of filmmaking—packed with subtle, dark comedy in the first half [...] Second half takes off well with several mass scenes, especially when the story goes back in time to show a glimpse of Muthuvel's past but quickly loses steam and ends up leading towards a dragged, albeit a bit boring and a disappointing climax." Janani K of India Today also rated three out of five and wrote: "Jailer is a film that celebrates Rajinikanth for what he is. There are sparks of Nelson's intelligence in Jailer which makes it quite enjoyable." Pratikshya Mishra of The Quint also gave the same rating and wrote "Without Rajinikanth, Jailer might not have had the same magnetism as it does but since the star is on screen, flicking his shades and throwing lighters in the air, it's a whole different story."
Priyanka Sundar of Firstpost gave the same rating and wrote "One of the most memorable things about Nelson's directorial Jailer, starring Rajinikanth, is the fact that the superstar doesn't get into a zone where he performs unbelievable action sequences". Bharathy Singaravel of The News Minute wrote "Jailer is an undiluted adrenaline rush for the diehard Rajini fan. The star brings his trademark larger-than-life mannerisms into Nelson's quirky storytelling: a combination that works like a perfect charm." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated two-and-a-half out of five and wrote "Jailer does intermittently have you in its grip because Rajinikanth has it in to whip up a storm even at half tilt." Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in wrote "The slickly filmed Jailer has some sharp scenes of crackpot humour and a few quirky types that salvage an increasingly dull homage to Rajinikanth's screen persona."
Box office
On its opening day, Jailer grossed an estimated ₹95 crore (US$9.9 million) worldwide of which ₹52 crore (US$5.4 million) was from India. The opening day grosses were ₹23 crore (US$2.4 million) in Tamil Nadu, ₹5.85 crore (US$610,000) in Kerala, ₹10 crore (US$1.0 million) in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, ₹11 crore (US$1.1 million) in Karnataka, ₹4.5 crore (US$470,000) in North India, and ₹40 crore (US$4.2 million) overseas. The film registered ₹50–55 crore (US$5.8–6.4 million) on its second day of release, witnessing a drop of 47.5 percent compared to its first day. Its net collection in all languages, stands being ₹26.56 crore (US$2.8 million). Despite that, the film crossed the ₹100 crore (US$10 million) mark within its second day, with the collections of the first two days, stands at ₹135 crore (US$14 million). On its third day, the film earned ₹35 crore (US$3.6 million) in India and crossed ₹100 crore net at the domestic box office, as well as ₹150 crore (US$16 million) within the third day of its release. The film crossed ₹300 crore (US$31 million) within four days, and registered 86 percent occupancy on 12 and 13 August, respectively.
On the Independence Day (15 August), the film scored ₹40 crore (US$4.2 million) registering the second-best for the Indian box office, besides Gadar 2 which grossed ₹60 crore (US$6.2 million). The Producers Guild of India and Multiplex Association of India attributed the weekend of 11–13 August being the busiest single weekend post the COVID-19 pandemic where Gadar 2, Jailer and OMG 2 amassed ₹390 crore (US$40 million), the highest since the past decade. Film distributor Akshaye Rathi claimed that 65 percent of Jailer's revenue were attributed to single screens, while 35 percent of it came from multiplexes. Within 10 days of its release, Jailer had grossed ₹194.7 crore (US$20 million) in Tamil Nadu, ₹75 crore (US$7.8 million) in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and ₹60 crore (US$6.2 million) in Karnataka, and ₹166.31 crore (US$17 million) at the overseas box office. It reached the ₹500 crore (US$52 million) mark within that period.
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the film opened to ₹20 crore (US$2.1 million) at the end of the first week. While exhibitors in those regions were apprehensive of distributing the film, after the performance of Rajinikanth's last three films, the success of Jailer was attributed to the audience appeal over its content as well as the underperformance of Chiranjeevi's Bholaa Shankar in those states. Within 18 days, the Telugu version earned over ₹100 crore becoming one of the highest grossing dubbed film in those regions. It grossed nearly ₹56 crore (US$5.8 million) from the Kerala box office in its lifetime. Despite being successful in the Southern states, it underperformed at the North Indian theatres due to the film not being showcased at national chains, poor promotions in the vicinity and competition from Gadar 2 and OMG 2 which significantly performed well in the North belt. Outside India, the film performed extraordinarily well. At the Malaysian box office, it registered the highest-single day opening for a Tamil film, grossing RM 3 million (₹5.8 crore) and became the highest-grossing Tamil film in Malaysia after its four-day opening weekend.
While India Today reported the worldwide box office collection to be ₹605 crore (US$63 million), Cinema Express and Firstpost stated that the film grossed ₹650 crore (US$67 million) worldwide in its total theatrical run. This makes it the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2023 and the second highest-grossing Tamil film of all time after 2.0. It collected 264 crores in Tamil Nadu alone becoming the first film to do so. Jailer created various records which includes being the highest grossing Tamil film in North America and the highest grossing Tamil film in Karnataka.
