Leo

*This is about the film. For the main character, see Leo Das*

## Lokesh Cinematic Universe

> *Avaṉ nijamaakave Parthiban eṉṟāl, avaṉai vīḻtta naaeu pēr podum, aanaal, nijamakaave avaṉ Leo aa iruntāl, oorellaam avaṉai vīḻtta mudiyaadu*
> (English: *If he's really Parthiban, just four people are enough to take him down but if he's actually Leo, the whole town can't take him down*)
>
> Antony Das to his men about Leo.

**Leo** is a 2023 action thriller film. It is the third film in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe.

The film is written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and stars Vijay as the titular character.

A sequel is planned after the success of the movie.

## Synopsis

Parthiban is a mild-mannered cafe owner in Kashmir, who fends off a gang of murderous thugs and gains attention from a drug cartel claiming he was once a part of them.

## Plot

The events of *Leo* take place in 2021, which is 2 years after the events of *Kaithi* & *Vikram*

The story starts with a gang robbery led by Shanmugam, who murdered a collector and his family for money. Meanwhile, in the town of Theog, Himachal Pradesh, Parthiban "Parthi," an animal rescuer and a cafè owner, lives a happy life with his his wife, Sathya, and two children, Siddharth "Siddhu" and Mathi. One day, his friend Forest Ranger Joshy Andrews calls him to help tame a spotted hyena on the loose. Parthi, with the help of Siddhu, manages to tranquilize the hyena and save the townsfolk. He purposefully avoids coming into the eye of the public over this incident and later adopts the hyena after it calms down.

Parthi and Mathi are at the cafe one night when Shanmugham and his gang up. Parthi tries to appease them by giving them all the money in the cafe, but one of the gang members makes a move on a female employee. Enraged, Parthi beats up all of the gang members. When one of them tries to kill Mathi, Parthi guns all of them down without hesitation but has an emotional breakdown afterward.

Parthi is released after being arrested initially for having committed the murders in self-defense, but his photo appears in newspapers all over India. One such image is seen by a notorious gangster, Harold Das, in Telangana, who informs Antony Das about this. Antony immediately leaves to Theog, to meet Parthi. Meanwhile, Shanmugham's relatives attempt to kill Parthi and his family, and Parthi requests a high-ranking, armed police officer from Tamil Nadu to be sent to his house for protection. His request is granted as Napoleon, recently promoted following his heroics with Dilli, is assigned to protect his family.

On meeting Parthi, Antony insists that Parthi is his son Leo Das, who was assumed to be dead, which Parthi vehemently denies. Antony threatens Parthi to accept his identity and surrender, or there will be consequences. Antony meets Sathya and tells her that Leo is a mass murderer, prompting her to dig into Parthi's past. At the same time, Joshy starts digging into Leo's past, and he finds out about Leo's friend Hrudhayaraj D'Souza, who was arrested and sentenced to be hanged in three days.

On meeting with Hrudhayaraj, Joshy learns about Leo's past. In 1999, Antony ran Das & Co., a tobacco company. Antony's brother Harold returns from London and starts smuggling drugs as the tobacco business doesn't take off. Antony's twin children, Leo and Elisa, do the dirty work for them to run the business smoothly. Antony tries to sacrifice Elisa on his astrologer's advice, as this would allow his tobacco business to take off. Enraged, Leo sets fire to all of Harold's drugs, but Harold manages to kill Elisa, and Antony shoots Leo, who is presumed dead.

On hearing the story, Joshy is convinced that Parthi is not Leo. Sathya also gets definitive proof of Parthi not being Leo. In the present time, Antony kidnaps Siddhu and tells him that he will sacrifice Siddhu as he couldn't sacrifice Elisa. Parthi and Napoleon give chase, and Parthi catches up with them and finishes off Antony and his men but doesn't find Siddhu. Harold learns that Antony is dead and calls Parthi to bring Antony's body and take Siddhu. As Parthi goes to Harold's lair, Harold reveals that he has sent men to kill Sathya and Mathi. However, Napoleon, Joshy, and the hyena finish off all the men. Harold's men attack Parthi, who manages to fend them off.

As Harold and Parthi engage in a fistfight, Parthi grabs a gun and points it at Harold, who admits that Parthi isn't Leo and says he and his family can walk away from all this. However, Parthi starts laughing and finally admits he is **Leo** before gunning down Harold and blasting the entire Das & Co. factory. Leo says he has nothing good in his past, so anyone who knows his history must not remain alive.

In an epilogue, as peace returns in Parthi's family, he gets a phone call. The caller tells Parthi that destroying only the Das factory wasn't enough, as drugs are rampant all over India. The caller also says that he knows Parthi recognises his identity, and Parthi sighs in exasperation.

## Cast

* Vijay as Parthiban "Parthi" / Leo Das
* Sanjay Dutt as Antony Das
* Arjun as Harold Das
* Trisha as Sathya Parthiban
* Gautham Vasudev Menon as Joshy Andrews
* George Maryan as Napoleon
* Mysskin as Shanmugam
* Madonna Sebastian as Elisa Das
* Mansoor Ali Khan as Hridayaraj D'Souza
* Sandy as Shanmugam's Psycho Robber
* Priya Anand as Priya Joshy Andrews
* Mathew Thomas as Siddharth "Siddhu" Parthiban
* Babu Antony as Antony's Right Hand
* Janany Kunaseelan as Shruthi
* Iyal as Mathi "Chintu" Parthiban
* Mukhtar Khan as Bhawar Jetha
* Ramakrishnan as Gabby
* Denzil Smith as a Judge
* Dinesh Master as Dinesh
* Madhusudhan Rao as Shanmugam's brother-in-law
* Vaiyapuri as an astrologer
* Maya S. Krishnan as Vikram's aide
* Punya Elizabeth as Sathya's friend
* Thavasi as Harold's henchman
* Sachin Mani as Shruthi's husband
* Shanthi as Shanmugam's wife
* Santhi Mayadevi as Parthiban's advocate
* Leela Samson as a public prosecutor
* Dinesh Lamba as the Divisional Forest Officer
* Anurag Kashyap as Daniel
* Kamal Haasan as Vikram (voice only)

## Appearances

### Organizations

* Das & Co.
* Shanmugam's Gang
* Indian Police
* Narcotics Control Bureau (mentioned by Leo Das)
* Masked Gang

### Locations

* India
	+ Theog, Himachal Pradesh
		- Café Wild Beans
		- Parthiban's Residence
	+ Hyderabad, Telengana (then Andhra Pradesh)
		- Das & Co. Factory
* Canada (mentioned by Hridayaraj D'Souza)

### Weapons

* Smith & Wesson Model 19-3
* Joshy's Tranquilizing Gun
* Parthiban's Bear Traps
* Siddharth's Spear

### Mentioned

* Dilli
* Cocaine
* Wild Honey Badger
* Leo and Elisa's mother

## Music

* *Leo (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)*
* *Leo (Original Background Score)*

 Neele Neele Ambar Par
 Karu Karu Karupayi
 Thanmani Pookkun
 Naan Pollathavan

## Videos

LEO - Bloody Sweet Promo - Thalapathy Vijay - Lokesh Kanagaraj - AnirudhLEO - Glimpse of Antony Das - Thalapathy Vijay - Lokesh Kanagaraj - Anirudh RavichanderLEO - Glimpse of Harold Das - Thalapathy Vijay - Lokesh Kanagaraj - Anirudh RavichanderLEO - Official Trailer - Thalapathy Vijay - Lokesh Kanagaraj - Anirudh RavichanderLeo - Official Tamil Trailer - Thalapathy Vijay, Lokesh Kanagaraj, Trisha Krishnan
## Trivia

* *Leo* is a second film adaptation based on the graphic novel *A History of Violence.*
	+ Although, it took more inspiration from the first film adaptation of the same name, released in 2005.
* At first, *Leo* was planned as a standalone movie.
* *Leo* has set several box office records till date.
	+ *Leo* is currently the highest grossing Lokesh Cinematic Universe movie.
	+ *Leo* broke several records for a Tamil film .
	+ *Leo* is 2nd highest-grossing Tamil film of all time.
	+ *Leo* is highest-grossing Tamil film of 2023.
	+ *Leo* is 4th highest-grossing Indian film of 2023.
	+ *Leo* is 13th highest-grossing Indian film of all time,
	+ *Leo* is highest-grossing Tamil film overseas.
* *Leo* marks as Kollywood debut of Sanjay Dutt and Mathew Thomas.
* *Leo* has plenty of references to previous Vijay movies.
	+ ***Ghilli:*** There was a particular dance step in Naa Ready song which Vijay's character did in the movie.
	+ ***Master:*** Leo fighting shirtless and bruised in the climax. One of the scores in the movie (also directed by Lokesh and composed by Anirudh) has been played at the beginning of the movie
	+ ***Pokkiri:*** The tools flying from the table in Naa Ready song.
	+ ***Pokkiri:*** Leo shoots Harold with the gun facing backwards.
	+ ***Pokkiri:*** At the beginning of Anbenum song, Parthiban says "Naan kovama kelamburan" (English: I will leave in anger) which Vijay's character says in *Pokkiri*.
	+ ***Thirumalai:*** Leo pulling a cigarette out of his collar like Vijay's character does in the movie
	+ **Multiple Vijay movies:** Vijay's iconic neck cracking
* When Parthiban first enters his café, one of his employees call him *Thalapathy*, this was a reference to actor Vijay's nickname.
* After the release of the trailer, the usage of expletives by Vijay was widely criticised. Later, the CBFC sent legal notices to theatres for screening the uncertified trailer. As a result, 43 seconds of the film were cut, with instances of gore and violence either blurred or replaced, although the runtime remained mostly unaffected.

### Mistakes/Goofs

*Leo* is set in 2021 but the paperwork here shows 2022. Both signatures has dates with year 2022 but different monthsThe TS license plate (Telangana) is actually a flawed correction over a TN license plate (Tamil Nadu)

> *Leo/Gallery*
>  *Watch Leo | Netflix*
>
>