Master (2021 film)

Master is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced by S. Xavier Britto under XB Film Creators. The film stars Vijay in the main lead role as the main protagonist and Vijay Sethupathi as the antagonist. Malavika Mohanan, Andrea Jeremiah, Arjun Das, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj and Gouri G. Kishan play supporting roles. It is the first project of the production house, which also co-produced the film with Jagadish Palanisamy and Seven Screen Studio. The film follows John Durairaj "JD", an alcoholic professor, who takes a three-month teaching job at a juvenile home, and clashes with Bhavani, a ruthless gangster, who uses the children as the scapegoat for his criminal activities.

Lokesh Kanagaraj narrated the script to Vijay in May 2019, and after his acceptance, the film was launched in August 2019. Kanagaraj wrote the script, screenplay and dialogue with Rathna Kumar and Pon Parthiban being credited as co-writers. Principal photography commenced in October 2019 and ended in February 2020; the entire film was shot across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Karnataka within 129 working days. Originally announced under the tentative title Thalapathy 64, the official title Master was announced on 31 December 2019. The music is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, while cinematography and editing are performed by Sathyan Sooryan and Philomin Raj, respectively.

Master was initially planned for a theatrical release on 9 April 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The makers preferred to wait for a theatrical release, rather than release it on any streaming service. After being delayed for several months, the film was finally released in theatres on 13 January 2021, a day before Pongal. In addition, the film was simultaneously dubbed and released in Telugu, Kannada and Hindi (titled Vijay the Master) languages. Master also became the fastest Tamil film to be available on a streaming service post its theatrical release; it premiered on Amazon Prime Video after 16 days of theatrical release on 29 January 2021, along with a Malayalam, dubbed version.

Master received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. It was the first Indian film to have occupied the first position in the global box office at the time of release. Irrespective of the fragmented theatrical release, and the early streaming release, the film grossed around ₹220–300 crore, thus becoming one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of all time and become third highest grossing Indian films in 2021. Many trade analysts and exhibitors praised the film's team for the revival of the theatrical business in Tamil Nadu, which suffered heavy losses due to the pandemic.