Thalapathy Vijay‘s latest film, Leo, has crossed several milestones since its release. The film pays an homage to David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence (2005). Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, Leo revolves around the story of a café owner who becomes a local hero through an act of violence. However, his actions set off consequences connected to an old life he left behind, leading viewers to wonder – is Leo a hero or a villain?
Leo stars Thalapathy Vijay alongside Trisha, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun, Madonna Sebastian, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Mysskin, Mansoor Ali Khan, George Maryan, Priya Anand, and Mathew Thomas. The film was released in dubbed versions in Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi.
Check out the trailer for the film:
Vijay’s Leo: What happened at the end?
Set in a small town in Himachal Pradesh, Leo begins with Parthiban’s introduction, an animal rescuer and cafe owner who lives with his wife Sathya and kids. Soon enough, the film portrays Parthiban as a heroic figure after he engages in a dangerous face-off with a hyena. This scene sets the tone for an action sequence later. He is soon compelled to resort to violence to protect his daughter from a group of dangerous goons.
The tension continues to build around Parthiban, and the news of his heroic actions spreads across the country. Two notorious gangsters from Telangana – Harold and Anthony Das – get to know about the same. They take Parthiban to be Leo Das, Anthony’s estranged son.
The Das siblings are surprised to discover that Leo is still alive, so Anthony decides to meet him in person to confirm the news. When he meets Parthiban, he becomes convinced that it’s his son Leo Das, but Parthiban denies the same. Anthony then tells Sathya that she is married to a mass murderer. This prompts her to investigate her husband’s past.
Is Leo Das still alive?
On the other hand, Anthony Das kidnaps Parthiban’s son and threatens to harm him in a similar way he sacrificed his own daughter and Leo’s twin sister, Elisa. A confrontation between the two ends with Anthony’s death, but Parthiban is still unable to find his son. Hearing about his brother’s death, Harold Das offers to return Siddharth if Parthiban delivers his brother’s body to him.
Parthiban agrees and goes to Harold’s factory to rescue his son, where he gets in a brutal fight with him and his men. However, Parthiban wins. Just before killing Harold, he finally admits that he is, indeed, Leo Das.
In the end, Parthiban receives an unexpected call from a man who addresses him as Leo. The mysterious man informs him that destroying the Das’ isn’t enough and the two should work together to fight off the drug cartels in the country. He also mentions that Parthiban knows him, and the audience is then welcomed with the background music from Kamal Haasan’s Vikram.
Is Leo a hero or a villain?
The trailer for Leo made it clear that Thalapathy Vijay will be portraying a grey character in the film. However, there have been theories surrounding the character’s morality. It’s all about how the origin story for Thalapathy Vijay’s Leo eventually turns out to be a false narrative. As his past remains a bit unclear, there is a lot of unsurety around Leo’s moral compass.
In a recent interview, director Lokesh Kanagaraj shared his take on Leo’s morality. He said, “That’ll be a surprise.” The short response acts as an indication that he has future plans for the character as well as LCU.
S. S. Lalit Kumar and Jagadish Palanisamy produced the action thriller film for Seven Screen Studio. Leo is the latest instalment in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU), which began with Kaithi (2019) and continued with Vikram (2022). The film had its theatrical release on October 19, 2023, and its international release on October 18, 2023.
