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The Greatest of All Time (also marketed as GOAT) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film[8] directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by AGS Entertainment. The film stars Vijay in four roles, alongside Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan, Jayaram, Ajmal Ameer, Vaibhav, Yogi Babu, Premgi Amaren, Sneha, Laila, Meenakshi Chaudhary and Abyukta Manikandan. It is the twenty-fifth production of the studio and the penultimate film of Vijay before his political entry. The film follows Gandhi, the former leader of an anti-terrorism squad, who reunites with his squad members to address the problems which were stemmed from their previous actions.
The film was officially announced in May 2023 under the tentative title Thalapathy 68, as it is Vijay's 68th film as a leading actor, and the official title was announced that December. Principal photography commenced in October 2023 and wrapped by late June 2024. Filming locations included Chennai, Thailand, Hyderabad, Sri Lanka, Pondicherry, Thiruvananthapuram, Russia and United States. The film has music composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, cinematography handled by Siddhartha Nuni and editing by Venkat Raajen. Made on a production budget of ₹380–₹400 crore, it is AGS's most expensive film till date.
The Greatest of All Time was released worldwide on 5 September 2024 in standard and IMAX formats to mixed reviews from critics, who praised Vijay's performance, action sequences and climax while the lack of character development and writing received criticism. It set several box office records for a Tamil film, emerging as the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2024,[9][10][11] the third highest-grossing Indian film of 2024, fifth highest-grossing Tamil film of all time, fifth highest-grossing Tamil film in overseas, and the third highest-grossing film in Tamil Nadu.[12]
Plot
In 2008, at Kenya, the Special Anti-Terrorism Squad (SATS), consisting of M. S. Gandhi and his teammates Sunil Thiagarajan, Kalyan Sundaram and Ajay Govindharaj, intercepts the terrorist Omar to extract uranium from him. Their former chief, Rajiv Menon, who is absconding after being charged with treason, is also on the same train. They retrieve the uranium from Menon and destroy the train he was on, believing everyone on board, including Menon, to have died. Back in Delhi, the team lives undercover as employees of a travel agency, hiding their real jobs from their families. Gandhi lives with his wife, Anuradha "Anu", who is pregnant, and their five-year-old son, Jeevan.
Gandhi takes his family along to alleviate Anu's suspicions of infidelity when he is assigned a new mission in Bangkok. After completing the mission, Gandhi and his family are attacked, leading to Anu going into labor, and Jeevan mysteriously disappearing. The police find a charred body they believe to be Jeevan's, leaving Gandhi devastated. Anu delivers a baby girl but stops speaking to Gandhi out of grief.
By 2024, Gandhi has left the squad and works as an immigration officer at Chennai International Airport. He and Anu live separately, and their daughter, Jeevitha lives with Anu. Upon Kalyan's suggestion, Gandhi's former boss Nazeer asks him to go to Moscow to train new officers at the reopened Indian Embassy. Though reluctant, Gandhi agrees, but during his time there, the embassy is attacked by a gang. Gandhi fights them off and is shocked to see one of the attackers, a young doppelgänger. He realizes it is Jeevan and confirms this when he helps him fend off the attackers. They return to Chennai, and the family reunites, with Anu starting to speak to Gandhi again. Nazeer calls Gandhi for an urgent meeting at the Chennai Metro station, stating that the information is so confidential it cannot be told over the phone. Nazeer is attacked by a masked man. Gandhi arrives just in time to fight off the attacker, but Nazeer is killed by the masked man, who is later revealed to be Jeevan.
Gandhi returns to the SATS squad to find who is trying to cause a threat to their agency. Nazeer's phone has all the information about Jeevan and his gang from Moscow. Jeevan's accomplice Sha took the phone from Nazeer in the Metro station when Nazeer dropped it. But Sha reveals to Jeevan that the phone went missing. It is revealed that Jeevan has been working for Menon all this time and he has come to Gandhi's family for a reason.
It is also revealed that Menon survived the train explosion in 2008 but lost his entire family in the incident. Seeking revenge, he tracked Gandhi to Bangkok, kidnapped Jeevan, and placed him in a juvenile facility, instilling fear in him. He then "rescued" Jeevan by killing the members of the facility, earning his trust and renaming him as Sanjay. Jeevan, manipulated by Menon, came to believe Gandhi was responsible for the deaths of his family. Fueled by this hatred, Jeevan dedicated his life to Menon and his revenge on Gandhi.
Diamond Babu, a thief, steals Nazeer's phone containing key evidence. Gandhi tries to buy it back, but Jeevan intervenes, leading to a deadly confrontation in which Ajay is brutally killed. Abdul and Menon's arrest prompts Jeevan to kidnap Srinidhi, blackmailing Sunil to secure their release.
Kalyan, exposed as Menon's accomplice, convinces Gandhi to free them. Jeevan slashes Srinidhi's throat, and Kalyan suffocates her to prevent her from becoming a key witness. While tracking down Sha, Gandhi coincidentally finds Jeevan and arrests him. During interrogation, he seizes Sunil's gun, seemingly kills him and forces Gandhi to escort him out, allowing Jeevan to escape. However, Sunil is revealed to be alive and kills Kalyan. Meanwhile, Menon kidnaps Anu and reveals a bombing plan, unaware it is Gandhi's ploy. Gandhi captures Menon and brings him to the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium to negotiate with Jeevan, preventing the bombing. Jeevan's plan is to detonate multiple bombs at the stadium and frame Gandhi for treason. Gandhi, with the help of his brother-in-law, Seenu, and Jeevitha, manages to get hold of the detonator. He subdues Jeevan's henchman, confronts him, and finally kills him atop the stadium.
In the mid-credits scene, it is revealed that "Jeevan" was actually a clone. The real Jeevan, now known as Sanjay, is a scientist specialized in human cloning and has prepared more clones to continue his nasty plans.
Cast
- Vijay in four roles as:
- Prashanth as Sunil Thiagarajan, a SATS agent
- Prabhu Deva as Kalyan Sundaram, a SATS agent and who works for Menon
- Mohan as Rajiv Menon, Gandhi's antagonist and Jeevan's adoptive father
- Jayaram as Nazeer, the SATS boss
- Ajmal Ameer as Ajay Govindharaj, a SATS agent
- Vaibhav as Sha, a hacker and who works for Jeevan and Menon
- Yogi Babu as Diamond Babu
- Premgi Amaren as Seenu, Gandhi's brother-in-law
- Sneha as Anuradha "Anu", Gandhi's wife and Jeevan's mother
- Laila as Dr. Radhika, Sunil's wife
- Meenakshi Chaudhary as Srinidhi, Sunil's daughter and Jeevan's ex-lover
- Abhyukta Manikandan as Jeevitha, Gandhi's daughter
- Yugendran as Abdul, Menon's friend
- T. Siva as an Indian Embassy officer
- Subbu Panchu as SI Rajendran
- Aravind Akash as Aravind, a SATS officer
- Ajay Raj as Ajay, a SATS officer
- Dileepan as Dhilip, a SATS officer
- VTV Ganesh as Raghavan, an security incharge in Stadium
- Parvati Nair as a junior SATS officer
- Omar Lateef as Omar, the terrorist
- Hrishikesh as Menon's henchman
- Subramanian Gopalakrishnan as a SATS officer
- Irfan Zaini as Johnson
- Anjena Kirti as a Juvenile warden (cameo)
- Sivakarthikeyan as himself (cameo appearance)
- Trisha Krishnan as an item number in the song "Matta" (cameo appearance)
- Y. G. Mahendran as RAW officer (cameo appearance)
- Kaniha as Abi Menon, Menon's wife (cameo)
- Komal Sharma as a dancer in the song "Whistle Podu"
- Salem Parthiban as Traffic SI Elavarasu
