Dragon (2025 Film)

''Dragon'' is a 2025 Indian Tamil-language coming-of-age comedy drama film directed by Ashwath Marimuthu, who co-wrote the story with Pradeep Ranganathan. Produced by AGS Entertainment, the film stars Pradeep in the titular role, Anupama Parameswaran, Kayadu Lohar, Mysskin, Gautham Vasudev Menon, K. S. Ravikumar and George Maryan. In the film, a college dropout deceptively secures a high-paying job, but is forced to accept a major challenge to avoid being exposed.

The film was officially announced in April 2024 under the tentative titles ''#AGS26'' and ''#PradeepAshwathCombo'', as it is AGS's 26th production and the first collaboration between Pradeep and Ashwath, and the official title was announced a few days later. Principal photography commenced the following month in Chennai and was nearly complete that October. The film has music composed by Leon James, cinematography handled by Niketh Bommireddy and editing by Pradeep E. Ragav.

''Dragon'' was released worldwide on 21 February 2025 in standard and EPIQ formats. The film received widespread critical acclaim, with particular praise towards the performances and engaging storyline. Grossing over , it emerged as the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2025, before being surpassed by '' Good Bad Ugly'' (2025), and the second highest-grossing Tamil film of 2025 by the end of its theatrical run.

Plot

In 2014, D. Ragavan, a diligent 12th-standard student, wins a gold medal in computer science. Encouraged by his achievement, he confesses his feelings to his crush, Anjana, but she rejects him, preferring rebellious boys over well-mannered ones like him. Heartbroken, Ragavan transforms into a rebellious student, adopting the moniker "Dragon". With his friend Anbu, he builds a notorious reputation at AGS Engineering College in Vellore, accumulating 48 arrears. Despite his poor academics, he earns the respect of his peers.

During a college fest, Dragon gets into a fight and is suspended. Dean Mayilvahanan offers him a chance to redeem himself, but Dragon declines. After leaving college, he deceives his parents into believing he has an IT job, funding a small allowance through his friends and girlfriend, Keerthi. However, Keerthi ends their six-year relationship upon receiving a good marriage proposal, calling Dragon a failure due to his arrears and lack of independence. After a drunken accident, Dragon reassesses his life and sets a goal to earn a salary higher than what Keerthi's prospective groom Deepak earns.

Anbu and Dragon befriend Gowtham, a wealthy man who reveals he secured a job using a fake degree. Inspired, Dragon seeks one from the same agency, whose managing director M. S. Rajesh asks . Dragon manipulates his father, Dhanapal, into selling their land to raise funds. With the money, he obtains the degree and cheats in a video interview with Vale Kumar, the CEO of a multinational corporation. Dragon lands the job with an annual salary of .

Dragon performs well at work due to his computer science background and earns multiple promotions within three years, securing a transfer to the United States. He buys a lavish villa and car, impressing businessman Parasuram, who arranges his daughter Pallavi's marriage with him. Dragon and Pallavi fall in love. However, Mayilvahanan spots Dragon in his car and confronts him. Forced to confess his forgery, Dragon begs Mayilvahanan to stay silent. He agrees, provided Dragon clears all arrears in a single attempt within three months. Fearing job loss and wedding cancellation, Dragon accepts. He secures a three-month work-from-home arrangement, lying to Vale about marriage commitments, and to his family about a training program in Mumbai.

Returning to college, Dragon struggles to adapt. Meanwhile, Kutty Dragon (), a junior inspired by his notorious reputation, causes chaos. Dragon considers quitting but reconsiders after learning of Gowtham's arrest for his fake degree. Determined, he prepares for exams with help from Keerthi, now a lecturer. They reconcile as friends, with Keerthi expressing guilt over their past.

Before his final exam, Pallavi arrives in Mumbai to surprise him. To maintain his lie, Dragon says he came to Chennai to surprise her. She returns to Chennai, and Dragon rushes from Vellore to Chennai to meet her, then back to college. Exhausted, he accidentally sleeps during the exam and resorts to Rajesh's help to swap his answer sheet, ensuring he passes. Later, during a verification process at work, he learns he has officially cleared his arrears, securing his job.

On his wedding eve, Dragon and Kutty Dragon visit their classmate Venkat, who attempted suicide after failing a subject. Venkat, from a poor family, lost his Google job offer due to his failure. Dragon realises his answer sheet was swapped with Venkat's, leading to his undeserved pass. Overcome with guilt, he halts his wedding and confesses to Vale, Mayilvahanan, and his family. He surrenders to the police and serves six months in prison while Venkat secures his job at Google.

Upon release, Dragon is accepted by his parents and starts working as a food delivery agent with a modest salary, while resuming his education in another college. Impressed by his reformation, Mayilvahanan offers his daughter Harini's hand in marriage. Initially hesitant, Dragon is smitten by Harini upon seeing her.

Cast

Production

After the success of '' Oh My Kadavule'' in 2020, director Ashwath Marimuthu was congratulated by Silambarasan for the film's success, leading speculations that they would collaborate for the director's next directorial venture. Reports of a potential collaboration persisted through January 2022, with AGS Entertainment reported as the project's funder. Touted to be a romantic comedy, production was reportedly set to begin later that year. However, for unspecified reasons, the project was eventually delayed. Silambarasan moved on to ''Thug Life'' (2025), ''STR 49'' directed by Ramkumar Balakrishnan and ''STR 50'' directed by Desingh Periyasamy, while Ashwath took on the Telugu remake of ''Oh My Kadavule'', later titled '' Ori Devuda'' (2022).

In December 2023, Pradeep Ranganathan, a long-time friend of Ashwath Marimuthu, was reported to collaborate with him for a potential film. AGS Entertainment was confirmed to be the project's funder, and made a public announcement on 10 April 2024, confirming the project, tentatively titled ''#PradeepAshwathCombo'' and ''#AGS26''. The team retained collaborators from their previous films, including composer Leon James, editor Pradeep E. Ragav, and publicity designer Kabilan Chelliah; S. M. Venkat Manickam was appointed as the executive producer by the production house, while Niketh Bommireddy was chosen to handle the cinematography. Ashwath clarified the script he narrated to Silambarasan was not the same, after reports claimed it to be. The film's official title, ''Dragon'', was announced on 5 May.

Pradeep would be playing a student as a main character for the first time. Anupama Parameswaran would be pairing opposite Pradeep, in her fourth Tamil film after ''Kodi'' (2016), '' Thalli Pogathey'' (2021) and ''Siren'' (2024). K. S. Ravikumar, Gautham Vasudev Menon and Mysskin were confirmed to be playing important roles, in their first collaboration with Pradeep and Ashwath. YouTubers VJ Siddhu and Harshath Khan would make their film acting sophomore after '' Nenjamundu Nermaiyundu Odu Raja'' (2019), while Kayadu Lohar would make her Tamil film debut with this film. Shortly thereafter, George Maryan and television actress Indumathy Manikandan were announced to play the title character's parents. Principal photography began with first schedule on 5 May 2024 with an inaugural puja at a film city in Chennai on the day before. Several scenes were shot at the SSN College of Engineering, where Pradeep and Ashwath studied before. On 4 October, the director confirmed that filming had entered into its last schedule.

Music

Leon James composed the musical score and soundtrack to ''Dragon'' in his first collaboration with Pradeep and third with Ashwath after ''Oh My Kadavule'' and '' Ori Devuda'' (2022). The album was preceded by three singles—"Rise of Dragon", "Vazhithunaiye" and "Yendi Vittu Pona"—before its release on 9 February 2025 under the Think Music label.

Release

Marketing

The first trailer for ''Dragon'' led audiences to draw comparisons with the film and '' Don'' (2022), another Tamil film prominently set in a college, and featuring a reckless protagonist. Ashwath denounced the comparisons, acknowledging that while ''Dragon'' may be similar to ''Don'' with regards to their college setting and "vibrant visuals", the storyline was completely different.

Theatrical

''Dragon'' was initially scheduled to be released theatrically on 14 February 2025, but was postponed to avoid a box-office clash with ''Vidaamuyarchi''. It was released on 21 February 2025 in standard and EPIQ formats, clashing with '' Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam''. Apart from the original Tamil language, it was also released in a dubbed Telugu version under the title ''Return of the Dragon'' due to the original title ''Dragon'' already being registered for another Telugu film.

The film was certified U/A (13+) by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). In the United Kingdom, the film was released on the same day, however, in a version that was certified 12A by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) for moderate violence, brief suicide references, domestic abuse and injury detail, following a cut of 1 minute and 50 seconds.

Distribution

Mythri Movie Makers acquired the distribution rights of the film for Nizam and Ceded Area, while Poorvi Pictures bought the rights for Coastal Andhra. The distribution rights for North India were acquired by AA Films, and Karnataka by Oveum International. Phars Films acquired the overseas distribution rights for the Middle East, United Kingdom, Europe, United States, Canada and Dubai, while United India Exporters bought the overseas distribution rights for Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Sri Lanka. In Tamil Nadu, the film was distributed by AGS themselves.

Home media

The film's post-theatrical streaming rights were acquired by Netflix, where it began streaming from 21 March 2025.

Reception

Critical response

''Dragon'' received widespread critical acclaim, who praised the performances and engaging storyline.

Harshini SV of ''The Times of India'' gave 4/5 stars and wrote "'Ashwath Marimuthu's second outing is also a fun, emotional, and fully charged ride." Kirubhakar Purushothaman of ''News18'' gave 4/5 stars and wrote " The genius of Ashwath's writing is its thought-out screenplay structure. It raises despite its predictability. You see the conflict coming from a mile away. It is apparent Dragon will get caught; you know the next plot point is right around the corner, and you can feel the redemption arc in the air. ''Dragon'' delivers exactly all that, but in ways you didn't know were possible." Avinash Ramachandran of ''The Indian Express'' gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "With a terrific Pradeep Ranganathan in the lead, director Ashwath Marimuthu and his team have delivered a heavily preachy yet immensely entertaining film that knows its audience."

Ganesh Aaglave of ''Firstpost'' gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "On the whole, ''Dragon'' is a full-on entertainer with a good social message, which makes an impact without being preachy." Anusha Sundar of ''OTTPlay'' gave 3/5 stars and wrote "''Dragon'' warrants for a theatre watch. There is enough and more for the audience of today's age to get entertained and schooled at the same time. ..''Dragon'' becomes a film on how redemption works." Janani K of ''India Today'' gave 3/5 stars and wrote "''Dragon'' is a satisfying watch with minor shortcomings. Despite convenient writing, the screenplay keeps the story going with some interesting twists and turns."

Bhuvanesh Chandar of ''The Hindu'' wrote "Ragavan's story is a modern take, an antidote, to the countless Tamil college dramas with heroes proclaiming the swag with which young men should carry themselves." Latha Srinivasan of ''Hindustan Times'' wrote "''Dragon'' is a film that is fun and entertaining with an underlying social message that is important at this point in time. Money is important but is money everything in life? Director Ashwath Marimuthu and Pradeep Ranganathan have aced this outing."

Box-office

As of 10 March 2025, ''Dragon'' had grossed worldwide. By 11 March, it had surpassed ''Vidaamuyarchi'', which collected lifetime, to become the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2025. Mohit Dixit of ''Pinkvilla'' estimated the film would end its theatrical run with approximately . It did so with over .

Impact

In April 2025, a Telangana-based engineer cheated his way into securing employment at Infosys, although his deception was discovered within two weeks of his joining, which the media compared to the plot of ''Dragon''.

References

External links

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2020s coming-of-age comedy-drama films
2020s Indian films
2020s Tamil-language films
2025 films
AGS Entertainment films
Films about education
Films about examinations and testing
Films about lying
Films directed by Ashwath Marimuthu
Films scored by Leon James (composer)
Films set in Chennai
Films set in the 2010s
Films set in the 2020s
Films set in universities and colleges
Films set in Vellore
Films shot in Chennai
Indian coming-of-age comedy-drama films
Tamil-language comedy-drama films
Tamil-language Indian films

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