Leo (2023) on Netflix

NR20232h 39mAction Crime Drama

Parthiban runs a café in Theog and lives with his wife Sathya and their children. After he shoots burglars at the café, Antony Das claims he is his lost son, Leo.

Netflix3.9/5
IMDb7.2/1075,043 votes
Rotten Tomatoes82%

Trailer

Plot summary

Parthi, a wildlife rescuer and café owner in Theog, Himachal Pradesh, lives with his wife Sathya and their children Siddharth and Mathi. His friend, the forest ranger Joshy Andrews, asks for help with a spotted hyena causing chaos; Parthi tames it with his son's help and adopts it, avoiding media attention. Burglars led by Shanmugham threaten the town and enter the café at closing time; when they threaten his daughter and an employee, Parthi shoots them. He is arrested and acquitted, and the newspaper coverage draws the attention of the Telangana drug barons Harold and Antony Das. Antony travels to Theog and insists Parthi is his son Leo Das, a claim Parthi denies, and Sathya and Joshy begin looking into his past.

Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Leo (2023)

Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.

Leo became the first Tamil film to enter Comscore's global weekend chart, topping that weekend's global box office, and Vijay became the first Indian actor with two films to top the global weekend charts, the other being Master (2021).
After the song "Naa Ready" was released, Pattali Makkal Katchi president and MP Anbumani Ramadoss asked Vijay to stop promoting smoking in the film, and an RTI activist filed a police complaint that the song glorified drug consumption under the NDPS Act.
Lokesh Kanagaraj cast Arjun in an important role, which Arjun called "different" and "fresh"; Lokesh had first wanted Prithviraj Sukumaran for it, impressed by his work in Mumbai Police, Ayyappanum Koshiyum and Lucifer, but Sukumaran declined due to scheduling conflicts.
Vijay shot a fight scene wearing only a simple, thin shirt and had to roll on ice despite the temperature being minus 20 degrees Celsius.
Footage of Vijay from the shoot leaked and went viral, so the film's official technology security partner warned people against sharing it, and most of the cast and crew were then prohibited from using mobile phones on set to prevent leaks.
Cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa bought a Komodo-X camera to shoot Leo's action sequences in high resolution, making it the first Indian film shot with that camera.
After the trailer's release, Vijay's use of expletives drew criticism, the CBFC sent legal notices to theatres for screening the uncertified trailer, and 43 seconds of the film were cut, with gore and violence blurred or replaced while the runtime stayed mostly unchanged.
Background dancers in one of the film's songs claimed the makers had still not paid their full remuneration despite repeated requests; the production team said the payment had been sent to the Tamil Nadu Film, Television Dancers & Dance Directors Union for registered members.