Thegidi

Vetri, a criminology student turned detective, investigates a series of murders linked to a forged insurance scam, only to discover his mentor Govardhan's involvement in the crime, leading to Govardhan's confession and suicide, and the revelation that a mysterious figure, Vallabha, is behind it all, setting up a sequel.

{{Cast listing|

• Ashok Selvan as Vetri
• Janani as Madhusree
• Jayaprakash as Inspector Raghuram
• Kaali Venkat as Nambi
• Jayakumar as Sailesh
• Pradeep K Vijayan as Poornachandran (Sadagoppan)
• Rajan Iyer{{Cite news |date=1 March 2014 |title=விமர்சனம்: தெகிடி |url=http://www.maalaimalar.com/2014/03/01105555/Thegidi-Movie-Review.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208045147/http://www.maalaimalar.com/2014/03/01105555/Thegidi-Movie-Review.html |archive-date=8 December 2015 |access-date=1 December 2015 |work=Maalai Malar |language=ta |quote=அசோக் செல்வனின் ஆசிரியராக வரும் ராஜன் ஐயர்}} as Govardhan
• Shalu Shamu as Aparna
• Ashritha Sreedas as Vidhya
• Sai Prashanth as Kamalakannan
• Rekha Suresh as Rukkumani, Aparna's mother
• Soodhu Kavvum Sivakumar as Madhavan
• Kavithalayaa Krishnan as Ranganathan
• Soundar Rajan as Head Constable Chakkarapanni
• Winner Ramachandran as S.I. Sukumar
• Puli Paandi as Dileepan
• Pattu Maami as Govardhan's mother

}}

The film was announced in June 2013 as a joint venture between Thirukumaran Entertainment and Vel Media.{{Cite web |date=8 June 2013 |title=Thirukumaran Entertainment's next titled 'Thegidi' |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-06-08/news-interviews/39833416_1_leo-john-paul-c-v-kumar-thirukumaran-entertainments |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103231711/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-06-08/news-interviews/39833416_1_leo-john-paul-c-v-kumar-thirukumaran-entertainments |archive-date=3 January 2014 |access-date=30 May 2014 |website=The Times of India}} Along with C. V. Kumar, the film reunited several of the crew from Soodhu Kavvum (2013) with cinematographer Dinesh, editor Leo John Paul, and actor Ashok Selvan all from that unit. The film's director was revealed to be P. Ramesh, and Nivas K. Prasanna would compose the music.{{Cn|date=June 2025}} Janani Iyer, seen before in Avan Ivan (2011) and Paagan (2012), was signed on to depict the role of a college girl.{{Cite news |last=Raghavan |first=Nikhil |date=13 July 2013 |title=Janani in C. V. Kumar’s production |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-columns/etcetera-a-steady-climb-up/article4911912.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103230847/http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-columns/etcetera-a-steady-climb-up/article4911912.ece |archive-date=3 January 2014 |access-date=30 May 2014 |work=The Hindu}}

The film, described as a "murder mystery", was wrapped up within 45 days and in November 2013, post-production works were ongoing. It was reported that all the songs were set to be montages and further filming was not required, even though the songs were incomplete during production.{{Cite web |date=12 November 2013 |title=Ashok Selvan and Janani Iyer starrer Thegidi has been wrapped up |url=https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-13/ashok-selvan-and-janani-iyer-starrer-thegidi-has-been-wrapped-up.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250602212017/http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-13/ashok-selvan-and-janani-iyer-starrer-thegidi-has-been-wrapped-up.html |archive-date=2 June 2025 |access-date=12 June 2025 |website=Behindwoods}}

{{Infobox album

| name = Thegidi

| type = Soundtrack

| artist = Nivas K. Prasanna

| cover =

| alt =

| released = 5 February 2014

| recorded =

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Feature film soundtrack

| length = 24:05

| language = Tamil

| label = Think Music India

| producer = Nivas K. Prasanna

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title = Sethupathi

| next_year = 2016

}}

The film's soundtrack and score were composed by newcomer Nivas K. Prasanna.{{Cite news |last=Kumar |first=S. R. Ashok |date=22 February 2014 |title=Audio Beat: Thegidi – Hummable tunes |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-columns/audio-beat-thegidi-hummable-tunes/article5716730.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305051209/http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-columns/audio-beat-thegidi-hummable-tunes/article5716730.ece |archive-date=5 March 2014 |access-date=30 May 2014 |work=The Hindu}}

IANS wrote, "If Thegidi turns out to be a hit, debutant music composer Nivas Prasanna deserves huge credit for the success. He carries the tension of the film right till the end with his background score and songs that are placed in the narrative at right junctures".{{Cite web |date=2 March 2014 |title=Tamil Review: 'Thegidi' is a taut film executed in style |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/tamil-review-thegidi-is-a-taut-film-executed-in-style/455211-47-92.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305043353/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/tamil-review-thegidi-is-a-taut-film-executed-in-style/455211-47-92.html |archive-date=5 March 2014 |access-date=30 May 2014 |website=IBNLive |agency=IANS}} Sify wrote, "[a] highlight of the film is Nivas Prasanna’s music and extraordinary BGM. The romantic melody Yaar Ezhuthiatho... is very soothing and BGM goes with the narration".{{Cite web |title=Thegidi |url=http://www.sify.com/movies/thegidi-review-tamil-15050247.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228160825/http://www.sify.com/movies/thegidi-review-tamil-15050247.html |archive-date=28 February 2014 |access-date=30 May 2014 |website=Sify}} S. Saraswathi of Rediff.com wrote, "The music by Nivas is an absolute joy. All the songs, as well as the background score are perfect". Karthik of Milliblog wrote, "Overall, promising debut by Nivas K Prasanna".{{Cite web |last=Karthik |author-link=Karthik Srinivasan |date=6 February 2014 |title=Thegidi (Music review), Tamil – Nivas K Prasanna |url=https://milliblog.com/2014/02/06/thegidi-music-review-tamil-nivas-k-prasanna/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250215193057/https://milliblog.com/2014/02/06/thegidi-music-review-tamil-nivas-k-prasanna/ |archive-date=15 February 2025 |access-date=14 June 2025 |website=Milliblog |language=en}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Track listing

| extra_column = Singer(s)

| total_length = 24:05

| title1 = Yaar Ezhuthiyatho

| lyrics1 = Kabilan

| extra1 = Sathya Prakash

| length1 = 4:16

| title2 = Vinmeen Vithaiyil

| lyrics2 = Kabilan

| extra2 = Abhay Jodhpurkar, Saindhavi

| length2 = 4:58

| title3 = Kangalai Oru

| lyrics3 = Kabilan

| extra3 = Ajesh

| length3 = 2:21

| title4 = Neethaane

| lyrics4 = Kabilan

| extra4 = Shankar Mahadevan

| length4 = 7:17

| title5 = Neeyum Dhinamum

| lyrics5 = Kurinchi Prabha

| extra5 = Andrea Jeremiah

| length5 = 5:13

}}

The film was released on 28 February 2014.{{Cite news |date=20 February 2014 |title=Thegidi to scorch screens alone? |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/thegidi-to-scorch-screens-alone/articleshow/30734961.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250614030612/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/thegidi-to-scorch-screens-alone/articleshow/30734961.cms |archive-date=14 June 2025 |access-date=12 June 2025 |work=The Times of India}}

Baradwaj Rangan of The Hindu wrote "there are plenty of tense moments, thanks to the deliberate pacing (that steers clear of cheap, amped-up thrills) and the fact that the film keeps zooming in on a small cast of characters. Thegidi is proof that if the small things are worked out well, the bigger ones will take care of themselves".{{Cite news |last=Rangan |first=Baradwaj |author-link=Baradwaj Rangan |date=1 March 2014 |title=Thegidi: Licence to thrill |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-reviews/thegidi-licence-to-thrill/article5740283.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304094736/http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-reviews/thegidi-licence-to-thrill/article5740283.ece |archive-date=4 March 2014 |access-date=1 March 2014 |work=The Hindu}} Sify called the film "a well-made, edge-of- the-seat thriller with enough twists and turns. It keeps the deception game going till the last scene, with a taut script and outstanding BGM by Nivas Prasanna". S. Saraswathi of Rediff.com gave it a 2.5 star rating and called it "a great effort by debutant director P Ramesh, who seems to have extracted the best from his team, be it the actors or the technicians".{{Cite web |last=Saraswathi |first=S |date=28 February 2014 |title=Review: Thegidi is an exciting thriller |url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-thegidi-is-an-exciting-thriller-south/20140228.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309070422/http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-thegidi-is-an-exciting-thriller-south/20140228.htm |archive-date=9 March 2014 |access-date=7 March 2014 |website=Rediff.com}}

M. Suganth of The Times of India gave the film 3 stars out of 5 and said "What's refreshing about Thegidi is how director Ramesh manages to keep things understated even when the situations seem to turn overwhelming. Barring a couple of scenes, there is a matter-of-factness in the approach that keeps the movie from turning into a bombastic thriller in which everything is at stake. This is the film's plus and also its weakness".{{Cite news |last=Suganth |first=M |date=28 February 2014 |title=Thegidi |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/thegidi/movie-review/31184881.cms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905081058/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/thegidi/movie-review/31184881.cms |archive-date=5 September 2014 |access-date=11 September 2023 |work=The Times of India}} IANS gave it 3.5 stars and wrote, "With its share of ups and downs, Thegidi is a taut film executed in style.

The film had a slow start at the box office,{{Cite web |date=4 March 2014 |title=Chennai Box-Office(Feb28-Mar 2) |url=http://www.sify.com/movies/boxoffice.php?id=15050433&cid=13525926 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306090706/http://www.sify.com/movies/boxoffice.php?id=15050433&cid=13525926 |archive-date=6 March 2014 |access-date=30 May 2014 |website=Sify}} but improved later due to positive reviews from critics and word of mouth.{{Cn|date=June 2025}} Sify later reported that the film was profitable if the collections from the theatrical run and the dubbing and satellite rights were added together.{{Cite web |date=1 April 2014 |title=Kollywood 1st quarter report |url=http://www.sify.com/movies/kollywood-1st-quarter-report-news-tamil-oebsnDifahe.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402013837/http://www.sify.com/movies/kollywood-1st-quarter-report-news-tamil-oebsnDifahe.html |archive-date=2 April 2014 |access-date=30 May 2014 |website=Sify}}

In April 2014, director Ramesh stated that he would make a sequel to Thegidi in future. He said, "Thegidi 2 is definitely on the cards, but it won't happen immediately. I have started working on a new project which I intend to work on before the sequel". He had planned a sequel even before the release of Thegidi. "I didn't have a bound script ready for the sequel, but I had decided to continue the sequel with Vallabha's character that you see in Thegidi. I decided this while working on the [first film]".{{Cite web |date=1 April 2014 |title=Thegidi 2 will take time: Director Ramesh |url=http://www.sify.com/movies/thegidi-2-will-take-time-director-ramesh-news-national-oebnatcfcfj.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401203540/http://www.sify.com/movies/thegidi-2-will-take-time-director-ramesh-news-national-oebnatcfcfj.html |archive-date=1 April 2014 |access-date=30 May 2014 |website=Sify |agency=IANS}}

• List of films featuring surveillance

{{reflist}}

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• {{Rotten Tomatoes}}

Category:2010s Indian films

Category:2010s mystery thriller films

Category:2010s Tamil-language films

Category:2014 directorial debut films

Category:2014 films

Category:Films produced by C. V. Kumar

Category:Films scored by Nivas K. Prasanna

Category:Indian detective films

Category:Indian mystery thriller films

Category:Tamil films remade in other languages

Category:Tamil-language Indian films