Petta (film)

In early February 2018, after completing his filming commitments for Pa. Ranjith's Kaala (2018), Rajinikanth held final discussions with a group of young directors, including Arun Prabu Purushothaman, Atlee, and Karthik Subbaraj for his next project.[18] On 23 February 2018, production house Sun Pictures announced that they would produce a film starring Rajinikanth to be directed by Karthik Subbaraj. To accommodate the film's shoot throughout the course of 2018, the director postponed the pre-production work of another proposed film starring Dhanush for YNOT Studios.[19][20] Subbaraj revealed that he was confident about approaching Rajinikanth to work on his film, after the actor was impressed with his earlier project, Jigarthanda (2014) and expressed a desire to collaborate. The pair had first discussed the script in early 2017, but Rajinikanth did not take a final call until finishing his existing filming commitments to Kaala and 2.0 (2018).[21] Talking about the project, Subbaraj initially revealed that the film would be an "action drama" which was "fictional" but "realistic".[9][22]

Anirudh Ravichander was signed on to work as the film's music composer in early March 2018, in a move which saw him collaborate with his maternal uncle Rajinikanth, and Subbaraj, for the first time.[23][24] Tirru and Vivek Harshan were selected to be the film's cinematographer and editor respectively, continuing their collaboration with Subbaraj following their work in Mercury (2018).[25] Likewise, stunt choreographer Peter Hein also joined the team thereafter.[26] In late May 2018, Subbaraj and Tirru went on a recce to scout locations in Nepal and North India to shoot the film.[27] The film's title Petta was revealed on 7 September 2018.[1]

Vijay Sethupathi was signed on to play a character in April 2018, and accordingly reworked his dates to fit the film into his busy schedule.[28][29] The actor signed the film after a month of media speculation that he would portray a villainous role, and revealed that he signed the film as he had blind trust in Subbaraj, and initially did not request to listen to the script.[30] Subbaraj had also been keen to sign Fahadh Faasil for a role in the film, but the actor's filming commitments for Varathan (2018) meant that he could not allot dates.[31] Hindi film actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui joined the cast in July 2018, while two other regular collaborators of Subbaraj, actors Bobby Simha and Sananth, were also signed to play pivotal roles in the film.[32] Other members of the cast included supporting actors Guru Somasundaram,[33] Munishkanth,[34] Shabeer Kallarakkal,[35] Deepak Paramesh,[36] Adithya Shivpink,[37] and Manikandan R. Achari.[38]

For leading female roles, the team held discussions throughout March 2018 with actresses Trisha, Deepika Padukone, and Anjali, but neither were signed immediately.[39][40][41] In July 2018, the producers announced that Simran had joined the cast to play as pair of Rajinikanth.[42] Trisha was eventually added to the cast in August 2018,[43] while Malavika Mohanan was also signed to appear alongside Rajinikanth.[44][45] Megha Akash was cast as Sananth's pair, and joined the shoot before the release of any of her initial Tamil films, Boomerang, Enai Noki Paayum Thota and Oru Pakka Kathai.[46] In October, M. Sasikumar and Mahendran joined the cast.[47][48]

Principal photography began in June 2018. The first schedule of the shoot began on 7 June at Eastern Forest Rangers College at St. Mary's Hill, Kurseong in Darjeeling, with the initial portions lasting nine days. The team then shot in other location across Darjeeling and the hill towns for a further month, in locations including St. Paul's and Mount Hermon School.[49][50] To finish the first schedule, the team returned to Kurseong for six days. An audition to cast 150 local actors was also held in Charbagh, Lucknow during the first schedule.[51] During the making of the schedule, Rajinikanth met with politician Gautam Deb, who helped the makers have a hassle free shoot in exchange for the promotion of tourism in the area.[52] Principal photography wrapped in October 2018, fifteen days ahead of schedule.[53]

Petta was released on 10 January 2019, coinciding with the occasion of Pongal festival along with Ajith Kumar starrer Viswasam.[58]

Petta is available for streaming in Sun NXT and Netflix and on Voot, then on JioCinema following Voot's shutdown. The satellite rights of the film is sold to Sun TV.[59][60]

Petta was released on 600 screens in Tamil Nadu with tough competition from Viswasam. The film grossed ₹1.12 crore at the Chennai box office. The film also grossed $133K at the US, overtaking Viswasam which grossed $18K.[61] On its opening day, the film grossed ₹36.6 crore worldwide, with a share of ₹19 crore worldwide. The film collected ₹104 crore, in 3 days and grossed more than ₹138 crore in the opening weekend. The film collected ₹104.3 crore (US$16.26 million) worldwide on 4 days.[62] The film collected ₹200 crore within 23 days.[63] The film collected ₹105.1 crore (US$16.38 million) in Tamil Nadu, ₹18 crore (US$2.81 million) in Karnataka, ₹4.5 crore (US$701,460.13) in the rest of India and ₹71.6 crore (US$11.16 million) in overseas with a total of ₹219—240 crore worldwide at the end of its theatrical run and became the second highest grossing Tamil film of the year.[64] The film had a 100 day theatrical run in Tamil Nadu.[65]

The film received mixed reviews from critics.[11] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 7 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "The film gives us the Thalaivar we all love - in loads. And Rajinikanth has fun playing the role, and shows us why he is the Superstar."[66]

M. Suganth from The Times of India, rated 3.5 out of 5, stating that "Petta is less of a Karthik Subbaraj film, but it gives Rajini fans their Thalaivar in a way that they have been dying to see him, celebrating the Rajinisms."[67] Srinivasa Ramanujam of The Hindu stated that "Despite quite a few underwritten characters, Petta triumphs by bringing back the Superstar of yore!"[68] Sify rated the film 3 out of 5.[69] India Today rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, and summarised that "Petta is a classic Rajinikanth film that his fans should not miss".[70] Anusha Iyengar from Times Now rated 3.5 out of 5, with a verdict "Petta is a complete mass entertainer with twists and turns that will make you howl in the theatres like you would in a Thalaiva film. It is relevant to the current day and age; it's a film that all Rajinikanth fans will definitely enjoy!"[71] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated 3.5 out of 5 stars, reviewing that "Karthik Subbaraj has a sense of style, which breaks through only occasionally in Petta. For that Rajini Sir will have to submit a little more to the script, and a last little twist in the long drawn-out climax holds out hope.[72]

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the film 2.5 out of 5, and summarised that "Rajinikanth returns to the basics with aplomb. Just go and watch it for the Rajinikanth that you missed in his last few releases."[73] Baradwaj Rangan, writing for Film Companion, rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, stating "Jigarthanda and Iraivi were sprawling stories but there was a sense of a gradual buildup, the sense of the narrative noose being slowly tightened. But Petta looks rushed and even the Karthik Subbaraj flourishes come off like affectations"[74] Gauthaman Baskaran, from News18 rated 1 out of 5 stating that, "Petta turns out be yet another outing for Rajinikanth who relies on gimmicks rather than solid performance."[75] Ananda Vikatan rated the film 41 out of 100.[76]