Vijay Sethupathi’s Baththa takes an unusual route into the world of gangsters. A man who has everyone at his beck and call suddenly finds himself stuck inside a school toilet, thanks to an eight-year-old boy. It seems like a funny accident but soon turns into a story about human connections, buried emotions and a gangster forced to face a side of himself that he rarely shows.
When and where to watch
Baththa hit theatres on October 1, 2026, and is now available to stream on Netflix as of October 29. Originally made in Tamil, the Vijay Sethupathi-starrer can be watched in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, with English subtitles. Announcing its digital release on Thursday, Netflix wrote, “This gangster opened the wrong door. Watch Baththa, out now, on Netflix, in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam and explore the best of South films and series by searching “Southverse” on Netflix.”
When a feared gangster finds himself trapped
Set in Madras in 1986, Baththa follows Baththavachalam, a gangster who has earned his reputation through violence and fear. On the streets, people know better than to question him. At home, however, his need to have everything under control puts a strain on his relationship with his wife and daughter.
Things take a strange turn when Sabari, a schoolboy caught up in his own childhood problems, accidentally locks Baththa inside an empty school restroom. Cut off from his men and the power he is used to wielding, the gangster has little choice but to wait for a way out.
The film is helmed by Balaji Tharaneetharan, who has previously collaborated with Vijay Sethupathi on Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom and Seethakaathi.
Cast and crew
The film stars Vijay Sethupathi as Baththavachalam. Lijomol Jose plays his wife, Kannima, while Sai Prithviraj Raj plays Sabari, the young boy at the centre of the story. The supporting cast includes Baby Sahasra Sree as Thenmozhi, Santhy Balachandran as Selvi, Hari Krishnan as Thirunavukarasu, Arjun Chidambaram as Jyoti, Ajay Ghosh as Konda Reddy, Vishnu Govindan as Delhi and Deepa Venkat as Lakshmi. Ramya Pandian also makes a cameo appearance as Jayanthi.
The film’s music and background score are composed by Sai Abhyankkar, while Selvakumar S. K. serves as the cinematographer and R. Kalaivanan handles the editing. T. Muthuraj is the production designer, and Kunal Rajan is responsible for sound design. The film is produced by Murad Khetani, Priya Atlee, Alok Jain and Ajit Andhare, with Atlee presenting it under Cine1 Studios, A for Apple Studios and Star Studio18.