Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal

After the success of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (2015), Vignesh Shivan had planned a script for a triangular romantic film starring Sivakarthikeyan in the lead role, with actresses Trisha and Nayanthara under consideration for the female leads.[5] Later in 2016, Vignesh had announced that Vijay Sethupathi will play the lead role in his film, titled as Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal; Anirudh Ravichander was reported to score the music which marked both Sethupathi and Anirudh's second collaboration with Vignesh after Naanum Rowdy Dhaan.[6] Produced by A. M. Rathnam, the shooting of the film was supposed to go on floors in August 2016, until Vignesh decided to remake the Hindi-language film Special 26 (2013) for his new project, the Suriya-starrer Thaanaa Serndha Koottam (2018)[7] and also to work with Sivakarthikeyan for another film produced by Lyca Productions, which came under the tentative title #SK17.[8]

With #SK17 becoming shelved,[9] Vignesh decided to revisit the script with the same cast and crew members. During the occasion of Valentine's Day (14 February 2020), Vignesh announced the film officially under the same title Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal,[10] reporting that he will produce the film under his own banner Rowdy Pictures along with Lalit Kumar of Seven Screen Studios.[11] Nayanthara and Samantha were officially announced as the female leads. It was touted to be a love triangle story.[12][13]

The film was initially announced with Nayanthara and Trisha starring. However, due to Trisha's exit from the project citing scheduling conflicts, Samantha Ruth Prabhu was later announced as the female lead in February 2020. This film marked the third collaboration of Vijay Sethupathi and Nayanthara after Vignesh's Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (2015) and Imaikkaa Nodigal (2018), where Sethupathi appeared in a cameo role, and his second collaboration with Samantha after Super Deluxe (2019). Anirudh Ravichander was announced as the music director, after regularly collaborated with Vignesh, since Naanum Rowdy Dhaan. Vijay Kartik Kannan, who was initially announced as the cinematographer left the project after completing two schedules of the film, due to date clashes and was replaced by S. R. Kathir.[14] The film marked the debut of Shweta Sabu Cyril (daughter of veteran art director Sabu Cyril), who joined the film's team as the production designer.[15]

Vignesh Shivan announced through his Instagram on 21 March 2021 (World Down Syndrome Day), that, 15-year old Bhargav, who is affected by Down syndrome, will be joining the team as one of the pivotal role.[16] While the makers were tightlipped about the recurring cast members, in October 2021, it was announced that dance choreographer Kala Master will make her acting debut with the film, being a part of the film's supporting cast.[17] In November 2021, veteran actor Prabhu announced that he will play an important role in the film,[18] and Indian cricketer S. Sreesanth,[19] Redin Kingsley and Lollu Sabha Maran, confirmed their presence in the project.[18] In the first look released on 15 November, Vignesh revealed the names of the lead characters as Rambo, Kanmani and Khatija respectively.[20][21]

Principal photography was supposed to take place in April 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 lockdown in India. In May 2020, the production house announced that filming would begin that August.[22] However, on 10 December 2020,[23] the team officially kickstarted the film on floors in Chennai,[24][25][26] with principal photography from 14 December followed by Vijay Sethupathi's arrival in Hyderabad.[27][28] After the film's first schedule completed within a month, Samantha Ruth Prabhu officially joined the film's sets from January 2021 in Chennai as a part of their second schedule.[29] On 10 February 2021, Vignesh announced that the shooting of the second schedule wrapped.[29]

The third schedule began during March 2021 at Chennai, before filming was delayed due to the second wave of COVID-19.[30] Shooting resumed in Pondicherry in August 2021.[31] On 23 August 2021, a video from the shooting spot was surfaced into the internet. It had the lead actors recreating the song "Valai Osai" from Sathyaa (1988), where the actors also wore costumes similar to that song.[32] With more than 90% of the film's shooting being completed, the makers began post-production activities for the film, with dubbing works beginning during early-December 2021.[33][34] On 7 December, Vignesh kickstarted the final schedule of the film in Mysore.[35] The shooting was wrapped up on 31 March 2022.[36]

Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kadhal released on 28 April 2022.[55] It was initially slated for a theatrical release in December 2021 but due to delay in post-production, the release was postponed to April.[56] The film was planned for its simultaneous release for its Telugu dubbed version as Kanmani Rambo Khatija but the Telugu version didn't release due to negative reviews.[57][58]

The Tamil Nadu distribution rights of the film was bought by Red Giant Movies.[59] The Kerala theatrical distribution rights of Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal has been snapped by Iffaar Media.[60] The film was distributed in the UK and Europe by Ahimsa Entertainment.[61]

Star Vijay acquired the satellite rights of the film, while Disney+ Hotstar acquired the digital streaming rights for streaming.[62] The film started streaming on Disney+ Hotstar from 27 May 2022.[62]

The film grossed over ₹70 crore (equivalent to ₹74 crore or US$9.3 million in 2023) in worldwide box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of the year.[4]

The film received mixed reviews.[63] Soundarya Athimuthu of The Quint gave the rating 2.5 out of 5 stating that "The makers have hinted at it quite well because just like how Vijay Sethupathi as Rambo in the film smartly tries to justify cheating on two women at the same time, Director Vignesh Shivan with his quirky comedy, some beautifully placed emotional dialogues and heart touching lyrics also cheekily cheats the audience – making them believe that this is a one of a kind love story while all he did was, reimagine the rom-com genre by twisting the tale of the usual storyline – "two girls fight over a guy". But what feels somewhat good is that the hero is not completely rewarded at the end despite his mistakes as one would anticipate."[64]

Manoj Kumar R of The Indian Express gave the film's rating 2 out of 5 stating that "The latent nature of adult comedy in this movie is a big turn off. This film aims to play into the wild fantasies of a lovelorn man by subtly sexualising the leading ladies. But, it's neither clean humour nor an outright adult comedy. It's a mess. The main reason is Vignesh's indecisiveness. He wants to keep the film safe for people to watch it with family. And at the same time, sprinkle it with just enough double meaning dialogues and scenes so that people get the hint. It also wants to be a combination of director C. S. Amudhan's Thamizh Padam, a spoof film, and Vignesh's 2015 hit Naanum Rowdy Dhaan. You can't have it both ways."[65]

Logesh Balachandran critic from Times of india gave 2.5 stars out of 5 stars and noted that "however manage only to recreate the same in parts.The mere presence of Vijay Sethupathi, Nayanthara and Samantha helps to elevate even ordinary scenes inspite of the sloppy writing. A single-shot scene in which Vijay Sethupathi delivers a lengthy dialogue again showcases the prowess of the actor and how a good actor can make a scene interesting."[66] Srivatsan S from The Hindu noted that "Except for a few scattered laughs, this Vignesh Shivan directorial remains firmly bland despite featuring three brilliant actors"[67]

However, Hindustan Times critic Haricharan Pudipeddi noted that "The film, nevertheless, is salvaged by decent comedy and Anirudh’s splendid music. Vijay Sethupathi is at his effortless best on screen, and alongside both Nayanthara and Samantha, we get some lovely moments between the trio. The film does feel dragged post interval but by the end, it makes up for the problematic plot."[68] Avinash Ramachandran from Cinema Express gave 2.5 out of rating and said that "For almost half its running time, Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal explores the idea of a specific type of mental illness. Around halfway point, it seems like the film realises its folly and the makers dodged the ‘wrongful representation’ bullet.'[69]The News Minute critic gave 2.5 stars out of 5 and said that "Vijay Sethupathi has done an admirable job in the role given to him. We only wish that when such a firecracker cast was brought together, the script was fitting for their talent."[70]