Diesel (2025 film)

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Diesel
Diesel (2025 film).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byShanmugam Muthusamy
Written byShanmugam Muthusamy
Produced byDevarajulu Markandeyan
SP Sankar
Kishore. S
Starring Harish Kalyan
Vinay Rai
Athulya Ravi
P. Sai Kumar
Cinematography M. S. Prabhu
Richard M. Nathan
Edited bySan Lokesh
Music by Dhibu Ninan Thomas
Production
companies
Third Eye Entertainment
SP Cinemas
Distributed bySP Cinemas
Release date
  • 17 October 2025 (2025-10-17)
Running time
144 minutes [1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Diesel is a 2025 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Shanmugam Muthusamy in his directorial debut and produced by Third Eye Entertainment and SP Cinemas. The film stars Harish Kalyan and Athulya Ravi in the lead roles, while Vinay Rai as its antagonist with an ensemble cast consisting of P. Sai Kumar, Ananya, Karunas, Ramesh Thilak, Kaali Venkat, Vivek Prasanna, Sachin Khedekar, Zakir Hussain, Thangadurai, and KPY Dheena in pivotal roles.

Contents

The film was officially announced in June 2022 under the official title, Diesel. Principal photography commenced earlier in December 2021 and got wrapped in November 2023. The film's music is composed by Dhibu Ninan Thomas, with cinematography handled by M. S. Prabhu and Richard M. Nathan; and editing by San Lokesh.

Diesel was theatrically released on 17 October 2025, coinciding with Diwali and received mixed reviews from critics. [2]

Plot

Vasudevan "Vasu" from the fishermen community indulge in the diesel mafia network that his adopted father Manoharan started. Their operation is smuggling crude oil from the pipes that were laid by government along the shoreline rendering the fishermen community from doing their occupation. But when posed with certain challenges from the government, Vasu begins to play their game to them, leading to a cat-and-mouse chase.

Cast

Production

Development

By the end of June 2022, Harish Kalyan who was last seen in Oh Manapenne! (2021) was announced to collaborate with Shanmugam Muthusamy for his next film titled Diesel starring opposite to Athulya Ravi as the female lead playing the role of a lawyer. [3] The film is produced by Devarajulu Markandeyan, SP Sankar, Kishore. S under his Third Eye Entertainment and SP Cinemas, while the technical team consists of cinematographers Richard M. Nathan and M. S. Prabhu, editor San Lokesh [4] and action choreographers Stunt Silva and Rajasekhar. [5] Apart from the lead actors, the film stars Vinay Rai as its antagonist, alongside an ensemble cast consisting of P. Sai Kumar, Ananya, Karunas, Ramesh Thilak, Kaali Venkat, Vivek Prasanna, Sachin Khedekar, Sai Krishna, Zakir Husain, Thangadurai, KPY Dheena, Apoorva Singh and others in important roles. [6]

Filming

Principal photography began in December 2021 in locations like Chennai and Hyderabad. [7] During the announcement in June 2022, the filming was ongoing in Pondicherry. [8] In an interview, Athulya mentioned that the filming took place in Cuddalore for around 10 days. [9] By the mid-of November 2022, it was reported that the filming in nearing completion. [10] The pre-climax sequence showcasing a protest was shot with around 500 junior artists. [11] The entire filming got wrapped in mid-November 2023. [12]

Music

Diesel
Soundtrack album by
Dhibu Ninan Thomas
Genre Feature film soundtrack
LanguageTamil
Label Think Music
Producer Dhibu Ninan Thomas
Dhibu Ninan Thomas chronology
Ajayante Randam Moshanam
(2024)		Diesel
(2025)
Singles from Diesel
  1. "Beer Song"
    Released: 10 February 2023
  2. "Dillubaru Aaja"
    Released: 18 February 2025
  3. "Aaruyire"
    Released: 3 October 2025

The film has music composed by Dhibu Ninan Thomas. [13] The first single titled "Beer Song" was released on 10 February 2023 to become an instant hit for its orchestration, lyrics and choreography. [14] The second single titled "Dillubaru Aaja" sung by Silambarasan [15] and Shweta Mohan was released on 18 February 2025. [16] The third single titled "Aaruyire" was released on 3 October 2025. [17]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Beer Song" Rokesh Gana Guna3:16
2."Dillubaru Aaja"Rokesh, GKB Silambarasan, Shweta Mohan 4:38
3."Aaruyire" Mohan Rajan Ravi G 

Release

Diesel was theatrically released on 17 October 2025, coinciding with Diwali, clashing with Bison & Dude. [18] Along with the original Tamil version, the film will also be released in the dubbed versions of Telugu and Hindi. [19]

Reception

Critical response

Diesel received mixed reviews from critics.

Abhinav Subramanian of The Times of India gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Except nothing ever catches fire. The film plods through its conflicts with a flatness that simply goes through the motions. [...] Harish Kalyan has the looks and the chops that help with screen presence. He's lively and really carries the movie. Vinay Rai plays a steely antagonist, and Karunas lends good support." [20] Akshay Kumar of Cinema Express gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Diesel is a movie that requires caution regarding its expectations, and it succeeds in parts. The genuine efforts to showcase the struggles in fishermen's livelihood and their living are also worth plaudits. But the poor writing choices create a disconnect between commercial appeal and the story's needs." [21] Janani K of India Today gave 1.5/5 stars and wrote "'Diesel' squanders a potentially explosive premise about fishing communities and crude oil theft by drowning it in borrowed ideas, shoddy execution, and technical incompetence." [22] Anusha Sundar of OTT Play gave 1.5/5 stars and wrote "Diesel unfortunately becomes a disappointing watch. With too many elements, and deviations in form of unwanted romance and comedy, the focus for Diesel is lost in translation." [23] Bhuvanesh Chandar of The Hindu wrote "Diesel is a forgettable outing for Harish Kalyan, but you can’t help but appreciate the actor for the effort he puts in this all-new space. [...] However, this engine needed more ignition and less imitation of a formula, and perhaps a convincing re-draft and some trust in the audience could have made Harish’s efforts worthwhile." [24]

[25]

Box office

In India, Diesel was released alongside Dude and Bison. It opened to ₹40 lakh (US$47,000) domestically, the lowest among the releases. [26]

References

  1. ↑ "Diesel (2025 film)". Central Board of Film Certification. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  2. ↑ Priya (29 August 2025). "தீபாவளி வெளியீட்டில் இணைந்தது 'டீசல்'". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  3. ↑ "சண்முகம் முத்துசாமி இயக்கத்தில் 'டீசல்' - ஆக்‌ஷனில் இறங்கும் ஹரீஷ் கல்யாண்". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). 29 June 2022. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  4. ↑ Features, C. E. (29 June 2024). "New poster of Harish Kalyan's Diesel out". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 17 March 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  5. ↑ "Diesel teaser: Harish Kalyan fights the system in this actioner; release date out". Cinema Express. 27 August 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  6. ↑ "Diesel release date, teaser out: Harish Kalyan's action film joins Diwali race". OTTPlay. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  7. ↑ "Harish Kalyan, Athulyaa's film titled 'Diesel'; First-look posters out". The Times of India. 28 June 2022. ISSN   0971-8257. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  8. ↑ "Diesel is a kind of script that no actor wants to miss: Harish Kalyan". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  9. ↑ Gupta, Rinku (14 December 2022). "Location Diaries: Athulya Ravi for Diesel- A sea of experience". Cinema Express. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  10. ↑ "Harish Kalyan & Athulyaa starrer 'Diesel' nearing completion". The Times of India. 16 November 2022. ISSN   0971-8257. Archived from the original on 9 August 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  11. ↑ "Shoot at Site: Harish Kalyan turns into an action hero in 'Diesel'". The Times of India. 9 November 2023. ISSN   0971-8257. Archived from the original on 27 August 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  12. ↑ "Harish Kalyan and Athulyaa Ravi's 'Diesel' shooting wrapped up". The Times of India. 12 November 2023. ISSN   0971-8257. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  13. ↑ "Harish Kalyan grooves to STR's Dillubaru Aaja". DTnext.in. 18 February 2025. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  14. ↑ "Beer Song: This romantic track from Harish Kalyan, Athulya Ravi's Diesel is an instantly likeable melody". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 20 June 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  15. ↑ "'Diesel' second single 'Dillubaru Aaja': The song from the Harish Kalyan starrer gets fan grooving - WATCH". The Times of India. 18 February 2025. ISSN   0971-8257. Archived from the original on 16 April 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  16. ↑ S, Ashwin (18 February 2025). "Diesel's peppy second single 'Dillubaru Aaja' features vocals by Silambarasan". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 20 June 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  17. ↑ Kumar, Akshay (3 October 2025). "Diesel's third single 'Aaruyire' is out". Cinema Express. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  18. ↑ "Harish-starrer Diesel joins Deepavali race". www.dtnext.in. 28 August 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  19. ↑ Features, C. E. (29 June 2023). "Makers release a new poster of Harish Kalyan from Diesel". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 8 September 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  20. ↑ "Diesel Movie Review: The story that never catches fire". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  21. ↑ Kumar, Akshay (17 October 2025). "Diesel Movie Review: Stutters and chugs along despite a full tank". Cinema Express. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  22. ↑ K, Janani (17 October 2025). "Diesel review: Harish Kalyan's film fails to ignite despite strong premise". India Today . Archived from the original on 17 October 2025. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  23. ↑ "Diesel review: Harish Kalyan film with lackluster writing is like seized engine". OTTPlay. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  24. ↑ Chandar, Bhuvanesh (17 October 2025). "'Diesel' movie review: Harish Kalyan's ambitious pivot stalls after ignition". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  25. ↑ Parasuraman, Prathyush (17 October 2025). "'Diesel' Movie Review: Harish Kalyan Anchors A Lost, Lazy Film". The Hollywood Reporter India . Archived from the original on 17 October 2025. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  26. ↑ பிரிவு, இணையதளச் செய்திப் (2 October 2025). "பைசன், டியூட், டீசல் முதல்நாள் வசூல்... தீபாவளி வெற்றியாளர் யார்?". Dinamani (in Tamil). Retrieved 18 October 2025.
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