Theri is a 2016 Tamil action thriller film directed by Atlee. It stars Vijay with Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Amy Jackson, Mahendran and Azhagam Perumal. Music by G. V. Prakash Kumar. It was released on 14 April 2016 (Tamil New Year (Puthandu)).
Joseph Kuruvilla is a mild-mannered bakery owner in Alappuzha, Kerala, devoted to raising his young daughter Nivi. When local thugs threaten the child, his ferocious fighting skills give away a buried past: he is really DCP Vijay Kumar, a fearless Chennai police officer. A flashback reveals how his crusade against a powerful minister's son turned his family into targets, and why he had to disappear, until his enemies track him down once more.
Vijay plays a dual-identity hero, a gentle single father who is secretly a ruthless cop, with the father-daughter bond at the film's heart. It became his first ₹150 crore grosser and began his hugely successful partnership with Atlee.
Figures are trade estimates reported at the time and may vary.
First of three Vijay-Atlee films, followed by Mersal (2017) and Bigil (2019).
Vijay's first film to gross ₹150 crore, and the second-highest-grossing Tamil film of 2016.
Vijay sang 'Chella Kutti' with Neeti Mohan.
G. V. Prakash Kumar's 50th film as composer, and his second with both Vijay and Atlee.
Working titles considered included Moondru Mugam, Vetri, Thuppaki 2, Khakee and Thaarumaaru.
Child actor Nainika is the daughter of actress Meena; she won the Filmfare award for Best Supporting Actress (Tamil).
Director J. Mahendran played the villain and won the Filmfare award for Best Actor in a Negative Role.
Radhika Sarathkumar, who plays Vijay's mother, had acted with him in Ithu Engal Neethi (1993), where he was a child artist.
Shooting was delayed by a producers' strike and the 2015 Chennai floods; a planned China schedule moved to Bangkok.
Hollywood stunt choreographer Kaloyan Vodenicharov designed the climax action.
Its satellite rights reportedly went unsold initially; it premiered on Sun TV on 18 October 2017.
Remade in Sinhala (Goree), Assamese (Ratnakar) and Hindi (Baby John, 2024).
Critics were broadly positive but measured: The Times of India and India Today gave 3/5, Sify called it 'strictly escapist fun', and Hindustan Times praised the father-daughter bond. The Indian Express found it yawn-inducing (2/5), and The Hindu's Baradwaj Rangan said the screenplay ticks every expected box.
Theri cemented Vijay's 'mass family hero' image of the late 2010s, inspired remakes in three languages, and remained popular enough for planned theatrical re-releases in 2019 and 2026.