Leo (2023 Tamil film)

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Leo (2023 Tamil film)
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lokesh Kanagaraj
Written by	Lokesh Kanagaraj Rathna Kumar Deeraj Vaidy
Based on	A History of Violence by David Cronenberg
Produced by	S. S. LalitKumar Jagadish Palanisamy
Starring	Vijay Sanjay Dutt Trisha Arjun
Cinematography	Manoj Paramahamsa
Edited by	Philomin Raj
Music by	Anirudh Ravichander
Production company	Seven Screen Studio
Distributed by	see below
Release date	19 October 2023 (2023-10-19)
Running time	164 minutes
Language	Tamil
Country	India
Budget	Template:EstimationTemplate:INR crore
Box office	Template:EstimationTemplate:INR crore

Leo (also marketed as Leo: Bloody Sweet) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced by Seven Screen Studio. The film stars Vijay in the titular role, alongside Sanjay Dutt, Trisha, Arjun, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Mysskin, Madonna Sebastian, George Maryan, Mansoor Ali Khan, Priya Anand and Mathew Thomas. It is the third instalment in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe and is inspired by A History of Violence (2005), an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name. The film follows Parthi, a café owner and animal rescuer in Theog, who is pursued by gangsters Antony and Harold Das who suspect him to be Antony's estranged son, Leo.

The film was officially announced in January 2023 under the tentative title Thalapathy 67, as it is Vijay's 67th film as a lead actor, and the official title was announced a few days later. Principal photography commenced the same month in Chennai along with a sporadic schedule in Kashmir, which was again followed by another schedule held at the former location, and wrapped by mid-July. The film has music composed by Anirudh Ravichander, cinematography handled by Manoj Paramahamsa and editing by Philomin Raj.

Leo was released worldwide on 19 October 2023 in standard and IMAX formats to mixed reviews from critics. It set several box office records for a Tamil film, emerging as the fifth highest-grossing Indian film of 2023.

Plot

Parthiban "Parthi" is an animal rescuer and a café owner in Theog, living with his wife, Sathya, son Siddharth "Siddhu" and daughter Mathi "Chintu". One day, Parthi's friend, Joshy Andrews, a forest ranger, calls him to help tame a spotted hyena threatening the townsfolk. With Siddhu's help, Parthi manages to tranquilise the hyena. He purposely avoids public attention over this incident and adopts the hyena after it calms down.

One night, Parthi and Chintu are at the café when Shanmugham, a dangerous gangster and his men arrive to rob the café. Parthi tries to appease them by giving them money, but one of the gang members makes a move on employee Shruthi. Enraged, Parthi beats up all of them. When one of them attempts to kill Chintu, Parthi guns all of them down without hesitation, but later has an emotional breakdown. Initially arrested, Parthi is released for having committed the murders in self-defense, but his photograph appears in newspapers all over India. One such image is seen by a notorious gangster named Harold Das in Telangana, who informs his elder brother, Antony Das about him.

Meanwhile, Shanmugham's relatives attempt to kill Parthi and his family, prompting him to request a high-ranking, armed police officer from Tamil Nadu to be sent to his house for protection. Parthi's request is granted as Napoleon, having been promoted recently following his heroics with Dilli in Tiruchirappalli, is assigned to protect his family. On meeting Parthi, Antony insists that Parthi is his son, Leo Das, who was assumed to be dead, but Parthi vehemently denies this. Antony threatens him to accept his identity and surrender or face the consequences. Antony meets Sathya and tells her that Leo is a mass murderer, prompting her to dig into Parthi's past. At the same time, Joshy starts digging into Leo's past and learns about his friend, Hridayaraj D'Souza, who was arrested and is to be hanged in three days. On meeting with Hridayaraj, Joshy learns about Leo's past.

In 1999, Antony established a tobacco factory called Das & Co. Harold returned to India from Canada and started manufacturing and smuggling Datura, a drug significantly more lethal than cocaine, using the factory as a front as their tobacco products did not take off. Antony's twin children, Leo and Elisa Das, did the dirty work for them to run the business smoothly. Being a strong believer in the occult, Antony tried to sacrifice Elisa based on his astrologer's advice, as this would have allowed their tobacco products to take off. Enraged, Leo set fire to all of Harold's drugs, but Harold managed to kill Elisa and Antony shot Leo, who was since presumed to be dead.

On hearing this, Joshy is convinced that Parthi is not Leo, while Sathya also gets definitive proof of the same. Meanwhile, Antony kidnaps Siddhu and tells him that he will sacrifice Siddhu as he could not sacrifice Elisa with his own hands. Parthi and Napoleon give chase to Antony and his men, and Parthi eventually catches up with them. He finishes off Antony and his men but does not find Siddhu. Harold learns about Antony's death and calls Parthi to bring Antony's body in return for Siddhu. As Parthi goes to Harold's lair, Harold reveals that he has sent men to kill Sathya and Chintu. However, Napoleon, Joshy, and the hyena finish off all the men. Harold's men attack Parthi at their lair, but he manages to fend them off. As Harold and Parthi engage in a fistfight, Parthi grabs a gun and holds Harold at gunpoint.

At this point, Harold admits that Parthi is not Leo and states that he and his family can walk away freely. However, Parthi starts laughing and finally admits that he is Leo before gunning down Harold, rescuing Siddhu and blasting the entire Das & Co. factory. Leo states that he has done nothing good in his past and anyone who insists on knowing his story must either die or already be dead.

In an epilogue, as peace returns to Parthi's family, he gets a phone call. The caller reveals that he knows Parthi is Leo and tells him that destroying only his family's Datura factory was not enough to make the society drug-free as drugs are rampant all over India. The caller also says that he knows Parthi recognises his identity, as Parthi sighs in exasperation.

Cast

• Vijay as Parthiban "Parthi" / Leo Das
• Sanjay Dutt as Antony Das
• Trisha as Sathya (voice dubbed by Chinmayi)
• Arjun as Harold Das
• Gautham Vasudev Menon as Joshy Andrews
• Mysskin as Shanmugam
• Madonna Sebastian as Elisa Das
• George Maryan as Napoleon
• Mansoor Ali Khan as Hridayaraj D'Souza
• Priya Anand as Priya Andrews
• Mathew Thomas as Siddharth "Siddhu"
• Iyal as Mathi "Chintu"
• Babu Antony as Antony's henchman
• Shanthi as Shanmugam's wife
• Sandy as a robber in Shanmugam's gang
• Madhusudhan Rao as Shanmugam's brother-in-law
• Janany Kunaseelan as Shruthi
• Sachin Mani as Shruthi's husband
• Denzil Smith as a Judge
• Santhi Mayadevi as Parthiban's advocate
• Leela Samson as a public prosecutor
• Ramakrishnan as Gabby
• Vaiyapuri as an astrologer
• Dinesh Master as Dinesh
• Jawahar as a veterinarian
• Anurag Kashyap as Daniel (cameo appearance)
• Maya S. Krishnan as Vikram's aide (cameo appearance)
• Kamal Haasan as Vikram (voice only)

Production

Development

Leo is the second collaboration of Vijay with Lokesh Kanagaraj after Master (2021).

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Pre-production

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Casting

Trisha was cast as the female lead, reuniting with Vijay 14 years since their last release, Kuruvi (2008). Sanjay Dutt would make his Tamil debut with this film.

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Filming

Leo was mainly filmed in Kashmir.

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Post-production

V. Srinivas Mohan is one of the visual effects supervisors of Leo

In February 2023, The Times of India reported that the film would be having an "extended post-production time" due to Lokesh not wanting to compromise on the CGI. Vijay started dubbing for his segments in early July 2023 and completed it on 10 July. Monesh H. and V. Srinivas Mohan are the visual effects supervisors, along with the Moving Picture Company, Al Zhara VFX and SkyHigh VFX, the film's principal visual effects studios. The film's digital intermediate and colour grading works began in late August 2023. Chinmayi Sripaada dubbed for Trisha for the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada versions of the film.

Music

Main article: Leo (soundtrack)

The soundtrack is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, in his fourth collaboration with Vijay after Kaththi (2014), Master (2021) and Beast (2022); third collaboration with Lokesh after Master and Vikram. The music rights were purchased by Sony Music India for Template:INRConvert. The audio launch was to be held on 30 September 2023 at the Nehru Stadium, but was later cancelled on 27 September 2023 due to incessant requests for passes in addition to safety constraints. The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on 19 October 2023.

Marketing

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Release

Theatrical

Leo was theatrically released on 19 October 2023 in standard, IMAX and other premium formats. Apart from Tamil, it was released in dubbed versions including the Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi languages. A lightly edited version of the film was theatrically released in the UK with a 15+ rating. However, an uncut 18 rated version was also approved for a 26 October release in the UK. Leo was the first film of Vijay to be released in the IMAX format in the UK. It was the first Tamil film to release in Bangladesh on the same day as its worldwide release, just like in other major countries. Leo was the first Tamil film to be released in over 999 locations in North America and premiered on 18 October 2023. It was reported that at least three versions of the film—distinct in differences in scene placement and editing for Leo's reveal to Antony—exist in theatres.

Distribution

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Pre-bookings

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Pre-release business

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Home media

The digital streaming rights were acquired by Netflix and the satellite rights by Sun TV.

Reception

Critical reception

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Box office

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Controversies

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Future

In early August, it was reported that the film would have a second part, making it Vijay's first time doing a sequel. The production is expected to start in 2025 after Lokesh completes his commitments towards Thalaivar 171, Kaithi 2 and Vikram 2.

External links

• TBA

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