Kara (2026)
Original title: கர
Kara is a 2026 Tamil-language crime movie directed by Vignesh Raja, with a running time of 2h 41m. It stars Dhanush, Mamitha Baiju and K. S. Ravikumar.
Set in the early 1990s, Kara follows a thief who wants out of the life. When predatory lenders trap his father in debt and seize the family's ancestral land, he is pulled back toward crime, with a determined cop tightening the net around him. Director Vignesh Raja puts Dhanush in the title role of this Tamil-language heist thriller, alongside Mamitha Baiju and a deep supporting cast. It trades on period texture, moral pressure, and the old tension between a man's better intentions and the circumstances that will not let him keep them.
Quick answers
What is Kara about?
Set in the early 1990s, Kara follows a thief who wants out of the life. When predatory lenders trap his father in debt and seize the family's ancestral land, he is pulled back toward crime, with a determined cop tightening the net around him. Director Vignesh Raja puts Dhanush in the title role of this Tamil-language heist thriller, alongside Mamitha Baiju and a deep supporting cast. It trades on period texture, moral pressure, and the old tension between a man's better intentions and the circumstances that will not let him keep them.
When was Kara released?
Kara was released on 30 April 2026.
How long is Kara?
Kara runs 2h 41m.
Who made Kara?
Kara was directed by Vignesh Raja.
Where can I watch Kara?
Kara is available on Netflix.
Where to watch Kara
Stream: Netflix
Cast
- Dhanush as Karasaami
- Mamitha Baiju as Selli
- K. S. Ravikumar as Kanthasaami
- Suraj Venjaramoodu as Bharathan
- Karunas as Kasi Maayan
- Jayaram as Muthu Selvan
- M. S. Bhaskar as Kangayya
- Prithvi Pandiarajan as Murugesan
- Sreeja Ravi as Dhanam
- Dhanesh Koliyat as Chittarkottai Manager
- P.L. Thenappan as Thenappan
- Aadukalam Naren as Customer Inspector
Similar movies
Explore Kara guides
A few thoughts on Kara
For the same slow squeeze of crime and consequence, Max Payne delivers noir vengeance in a rain-soaked city, while Mario Puzo's The Godfather traces how family loyalty and debt pull a reluctant man deeper in. On the soundtrack side, Nas's Illmatic narrates street survival with hard clarity. Michael Mann's Heat is the cop-and-criminal mirror to Kara's chase.
One last heist before he's finally out
Kara's thief wants a clean break from crime, only for one impossible job to swallow that plan whole. The Town, The Italian Job, The Getaway, Plunkett & Macleane, Cut Throat City, The Newton Boys and Cradle 2 the Grave all turn on that same setup, a crew pulling one more score while loyalty and nerve start to fray under pressure.
Family debt that pulls a good man back into crime
Kara's hero gets dragged back to thieving when loan sharks seize his father's land, and that same trap runs through this group. Bicycle Thieves and Wisdom both show desperate men breaking the law to save a home, The Godfather (in book and 1972 film) and Illmatic trace how the street economy closes around anyone born inside it, and The Channel follows brothers smuggling their way out of debt.
A thief who can't stay out no matter how hard he tries
Kara keeps circling back to the same idea, a man who wants to walk away from crime finding it will not let him go. The Locksmith, Sparrow, Face, B. Monkey, 10th & Wolf and Across 110th Street all follow ex-thieves or reluctant crooks caught by old ties, old debts or one last request, unable to close the door on the life for good.
Noir crime that swaps the screen for a controller or a page
Kara's tension between wanting out and being pulled back translates well beyond film. Max Payne and The Wolf Among Us put you inside a burned-out criminal's head, Disco Elysium hands the same moral fog to a detective instead of a thief, and Sin City and Crying Freeman carry that noir menace into comics, with Mr. Mercedes doing it in prose.