The film, Keerthiswaran's directorial debut and Mythri's second Tamil production, was confirmed by its streaming platform Netflix in January 2025, while Mythri officially announced the project the following March under the tentative title PR 04, as it is Pradeep's fourth film as a lead actor. Principal photography commenced the same month in Chennai. The official title was revealed in May. The film has music composed by Sai Abhyankkar, cinematography handled by Niketh Bommi and editing by Barath Vikraman.
Dude was released worldwide on 17 October 2025 in theaters, coinciding Diwali, to mixed reviews from critics and audience, praising its first half, visuals, performances (especially Pradeep, Mamitha & Sarathkumar) and Sai Abhayankar's music. However, the film received widespread criticism for the second half and handling of the story.
Plot
Agan and Kural, are cousins who share a close bond and run an event-planning collective called Surprise Dude, which organizes surprises for occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, and proposals. Their friendship is warm and playful until Kural unexpectedly confesses her love for Agan. Startled by the proposal, Agan rejects her, claiming he sees her only as friend & part of his family. However, after some time apart, Agan realizes he loves her as well and decides to confess his feelings.
Seeking approval, Agan visits Kural’s father, Athiyamaan, a powerful minister. To Agan’s surprise, Athiyamaan immediately accepts the proposal and begins making arrangements for the marriage. However, things take a turn when Kural reveals she has fallen in love with another man, Paari, who belongs to a different caste. Athiyamaan strongly opposes the relationship, revealing that he once killed his own younger sister for marrying outside the caste—a crime he concealed to protect his political reputation. When Kural’s relationship with Paari threatens to expose his past, Athiyamaan retracts his confession in public, dismissing it as one of Agan’s pranks to maintain his image.
On the day of the wedding reception, Paari attempts to elope with Kural with help of Agan but they cancelled their plan by seeing Athiyaman's political power all over India. Since Paari lacks a passport, their attempt to flee abroad fails, forcing them to fake the marriage. Afterwards, Agan tries to help Kural and Paari escape to Thailand, but the plan collapses when immigration officers demand return tickets. With help from Agan’s ex-girlfriend and her husband, the couple attempt a new plan to emigrate to Canada. Paari’s visa is approved, but Kural’s is rejected when it is discovered she is pregnant.
Desperate to continue their escape, Agan suggests abortion, despite Kural’s resistance. A gynecologist warns that Kural’s uterus is weak and that abortion could cause future miscarriages. Agan withdraws his suggestion, but Kural insists on proceeding. When Agan threatens to reveal everything to Athiyamaan, Kural reluctantly abandons the idea. She gives birth to a baby boy with six fingers. Agan, still devoted to her, poses as the child’s father to handle official paperwork and care for the infant.
On the night of Kural’s rescheduled departure, Agan’s friend reveals that Agan had always loved Kural but stepped back when she confessed her love for Paari. The revelation moves Kural deeply. During the ride to the airport, she confronts Agan and promises to find him a wife before leaving. She files for divorce and begins searching for matches for him through matrimonial websites and dating apps, but every attempt fails. Determined to fulfill his promise to send her abroad, Agan enlists a female colleague, Samyuktha, to pretend to be his girlfriend, which helps finalize the travel paperwork.
Athiyamaan eventually discovers that Kural and Agan have divorced and summons Kural. When she arrives, he confronts her about the separation. Agan intervenes, taking full responsibility for the divorce and claiming he intends to remarry. Infuriated at being publicly embarrassed, Athiyamaan assaults Agan and orders his men to kill him. When Kural learns of this, she confesses everything to her father, who, enraged, kidnaps her son with the intent to kill him. Agan rushes to save the boy. In a remote area, just as Athiyamaan is about to commit the act, he suffers a heart attack and collapses. The child manages to save him by calling for help.
When Athiyamaan regains consciousness in the hospital, Agan tells him that the child’s actions saved his life. The incident softens Athiyamaan’s heart and forces him to reconsider his beliefs. It is later revealed that the rescue was actually staged by Agan and the boy as part of a plan to help Athiyamaan confront his guilt. Realizing the magnitude of his crimes, Athiyamaan publicly confesses to the murder of his sister and is imprisoned.
In the post-credits sequence, Agan’s mother surprises him. She reveals that Agan and his colleague Samyuktha, who had once pretended to be his girlfriend, have genuinely fallen in love, and their marriage has been arranged. The film ends with Agan finding closure in love and Athiyamaan finally redeemed through truth.
In early 2024, Keerthiswaran, a former assistant director of Sudha Kongara, approached producers Y. Ravi Shankar and Naveen Yerneni of Mythri Movie Makers with the script for his directorial debut. Impressed by the narrative, the producers agreed to back the project. Following the confirmation of Mythri Movie Makers as the production house, Keerthiswaran offered the lead role to Pradeep Ranganathan. Although Pradeep initially declined the offer, citing concerns that certain portions of the script might affect his public image, in a comedic way, he later agreed to sign on to the project after being personally approached by the producers.[4][5] The project would mark Mythri's second Tamil production after the Ajith Kumar-starrer Good Bad Ugly (2025).[6]
Netflix confirmed the project in January 2025 during "Netflix Pandigai", where they reveal the list of Tamil films which would be released in the streaming platform after the theatrical release, with this project being a part of the list.[7] Mythri Movie Makers made a public announcement on 26 March 2025, confirming the project once again, tentatively titled PR 04.[8] The technical team consists of music composer Sai Abhyankkar, cinematographer Niketh Bommi, editor Barath Vikraman, and costume designer Poornima Ramasamy.[9] Latha Naidu was the production designer of the film.[10] The official title Dude was announced on 10 May 2025.[11]
Casting and filming
Malayalam actress Mamitha Baiju was cast as the lead actress after the director was impressed with her performance in Super Sharanya.[12]Principal photography began with an inaugural puja ceremony held on 26 March 2025 with the presence of the film's cast and crew at a film city in Chennai.[13] Filming wrapped by late-June.[14]
The soundtrack is composed by Sai Abhyankkar.[15] The audio rights were acquired by Think Music. "Blud Is On His Way" was the track that was used for the announcement video of the film, which was released on 26 March 2025.[16] The first single "Oorum Blood" was released on 28 August 2025.[17] An unplugged version of the song was released a week later, on 2 September.[18] The second single "Nallaru Po" was released on 19 September.[19] The third single "Singari", Pradeep's debut as a playback singer, was released on 4 October.[20] The fourth single "Kannukulla" was released on 15 October 2025.[21]
Romeo Pictures initially acquired the rights for Tamil Nadu, but stepped out of the project due to unknown reasons. AGS Entertainment later acquired the theatrical rights, marking their third collaboration with Pradeep after Love Today (2022) and Dragon (2025).[24][25] The overseas distribution rights were bought by Prathyangira Cinemas.[26]
Home media
The post-theatrical streaming rights were reportedly acquired by Netflix for ₹25 crore (US$3.0million) and [27] satellite rights were purchased by Zee Tamil and Zee Thirai.[citation needed]
Roopa Radhakrishnan of The Times of India gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Dude is a confident debut film. Even though it may not get a lot of things right, the film makes you curious about what its director is going to make next."[29] Janani K of India Today gave 3/5 stars and wrote "'Dude' is a fun-filled film that works best when it embraces its absurdity rather than preach. It delivers exactly what it promises – a fun, eccentric romance with moments of genuine hilarity. "[30] Neeshita Nyayapati of Hindustan Times gave 3/5 stars and wrote "If you liked Pradeep’s previous films Love Today (2022) and Dragon (2025), or Mamitha’s Premalu (2024), it’s more than likely that you will like Dude. [...] It doesn’t hurt that their chemistry crackles when they’re together on-screen. Dude might not top any of the previously mentioned work of these actors when it comes to the writing, but it’s definitely a good addition to their filmography."[31]
Arjun Menon of The Indian Express gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Pradeep Ranganathan and Mamitha Baiju-starrer Dude is ultimately a one-time watch, a film that starts off with breezy fun but loses its charm in a meandering, uneven second half."[32] Prashanth Vallavan of Cinema Express gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Dude has a wacky infectious energy, and uses it to make hard-hitting commentary on social themes, but fails to leave a lasting impact."[33] Anusha Sundar of OTT Play gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Pradeep Ranganathan and Mamitha Baiju's film, which undeniably falls under both romantic entertainer and social drama categories, gets saved by some smart performances and onscreen execution. [...] With some evident flaws and noble intentions, Dude strives to be an entertainer which it achieves to an extent."[34]
Srinivasa Ramanujam of The Hindu worte "While Pradeep scores not only in the humour part but also in the emotional sequences, Mamitha displays a range of expressions, especially when she is caught in a tug-of-war like situation during a wedding. [...] Where Dude misses out unlike Pradeep’s previous hit, Dragon, directed by Ashwath Marimuthu, or even Love Today, is its writing of the characters other than the protagonists."[35][36][37]
Box office
In India, Dude was released alongside Bison and Diesel. It opened to ₹11 crore (US$1.3million) domestically, with ₹4 crore (US$470,000) from Telugu states, becoming the highest opening among the releases.[38] Worldwide, the film collected ₹22 crore (US$2.6million), emerging as the highest opening for Pradeep.[39]
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