Kolai (film)

Kolai is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language psychological thriller film directed by Balaji K. Kumar. The film stars Vijay Antony, Ritika Singh, and Meenakshi Chaudhary. The film's music is composed by Girishh G.  The film was released on 21 July 2023. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb.

Plot
A singer and model Leila was murdered in her own apartment.The rest is a classic whodunit with potential suspects the boyfriend Sathish, modelling friend Arjun, a bombay Marketing Agent Aditya Kaushik and a thief Babloo.

Production
Production for the film began in 2018 and entered post-production in October 2021. The film is based on true incident of Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters that happened in New York in 1923 and according to the director is a palimpsest of the film Another Life (2001).

Soundtrack
The music was composed by Girishh G., collaborating with the director for the second time after Vidiyum Munn. The song "Paartha Nyabagam Illayo" was remixed and included in the film.

Reception
Janani K of India Today rated with 1.5/5 stars and wrote that "In an attempt to give the murder mystery a stylised treatment, the story of 'Kolai' is compromised. Hence, there is no desired impact while watching the film". Kirubhakar Purushothaman of Indian Express rated the film with 1.5/5 stars and wrote "Kolai ends up being a plastic film that is shallow and uninteresting." A critic from The Hindu wrote that "Despite all the quirky cinematic techniques on show, Balaji Kumar’s film, starring Vijay Antony and Ritika Singh, only comes across as a staple whodunit with no attempt to subvert anything". The Times of India rated the film 3/5 stars and stated as "An interesting yet slow-paced murder mystery thriller".