# Kannai Nambathey

Kannai Nambathey (transl. Don't trust your eyes) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller film written and directed by Mu. Maran. The film stars Udhayanidhi Stalin in his penultimate acting credit, Prasanna, Srikanth, and Aathmika, while Bhumika, Vasundhara Kashyap, and Sathish play supporting roles. The music was composed by Siddhu Kumar with cinematography by Jalandhar Vasan and editing by San Lokesh. The film released theatrically on 17 March 2023 and received mixed reviews from critics.

## Cast

* Udhayanidhi Stalin as Arun
* Prasanna as Somu
* Srikanth as Ilamaran
* Aathmika as Divya
* Bhumika as Savita and Kavita (dual role)
* Vasundhara Kashyap as Vasundhara "Vasu"
* Sathish as Jagan
* G. Marimuthu as Inspector Azhagar
* Pala. Karuppiah as Mu. Aalavanthaan, Health Minister
* Chithra Lakshmanan as Arun’s MD
* G. Gnanasambandam as Divya's father
* Subiksha Krishnan as Aparna
* Sendrayan as Simon
* Jeeva Ravi as Commissioner Rajendran
* Aadhira Pandilakshmi as Hemavathy
* Karate Karthi as the blackmailer
* Supergood Subramani as Inspector Paranthaman
* TSR as San Lokesh
* Bujji Babu as Raghu
* Leo Siva
* Tha. Muruganantham
* Madhesh
* Arulnithi as Bharath (voice only)

## Production

The film announcement made in around early 2019 about the making of the film casting Udhayanidhi Stalin titled Kannai Nambathey by director Mu. Maran. The title of the film was taken from a song from the 1975 film Ninaithadhai Mudippavan. Maran announced that the film is set in the crime thriller genre, similar to his directorial debut Iravukku Aayiram Kangal. He wanted an actress with a girl next door image to be the lead actress on decided on Aathmika, whose performance in Meesaya Murukku impressed him. Principal photography commenced on 11 February 2019. The film experienced production delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Udhayanidhi's political aspirations, with actress Subiksha Krishnan's portions only being completed by January 2022.

## Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Siddhu Kumar.

## Release and reception

The film was released theatrically on 17 March 2023, delayed from February.
Gopinath Rajendran, a critic from The Hindu, wrote, "Like an onion, Kannai Nambathey is a collection of layers that, when unravelled, have nothing at its core, apart from leaving us teary-eyed. Probably that also explains the title." A critic from Maalai Malar gave 3.25 rating out of 5 and stated that although there are some questions about the script, it does not seem like a big deal; the director has given the film so much that it is impossible to guess what the next scenes will be. Logesh Balachandran critic from The Times of India wrote that "with better lighting techniques and staging, and tighter writing in the second half, the film might have created a greater impact on us" and gave 2.5 stars out of 5. A Dinamalar critic gave a 2.75 rating out of 5.
Dinamani wrote that the cinematics of the climax scene are not enjoyable. A Virakesari critic gave 3.5 out if 5 rating and stated that Srikanth as usual has lived up to the director's expectations. Murugadoss C critic from News18 stated that this film belongs to decent thriller category.