The Greatest of All Time (also marketed as GOAT) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film[7] directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by AGS Entertainment. The film stars Vijay in dual roles, alongside Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan, Jayaram, Sneha, Laila, Ajmal Ameer, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Parvati Nair, Vaibhav, Yogi Babu, Premgi Amaren and Yugendran. It is the twenty-fifth production of the studio and the penultimate film of Vijay before his political entry. The film follows Gandhi, the former leader of an anti-terrorism squad, who reunites with his squad members to address the problems which were stemmed from their previous actions.
The film was officially announced in May 2023 under the tentative title Thalapathy 68, as it is Vijay's 68th film as a leading actor, and the official title was announced that December. Principal photography commenced in October 2023 and wrapped by late June 2024. Filming locations included Chennai, Thailand, Hyderabad, Sri Lanka, Pondicherry, Thiruvananthapuram, Russia and United States. The film has music composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, cinematography handled by Siddhartha Nuni and editing by Venkat Raajen. Made on a production budget of ₹380–₹400 crore, it is one of the most expensive Indian films and AGS's most expensive film.
The Greatest of All Time was released worldwide on 5 September 2024 in standard and IMAX formats to mixed reviews from critics, who praised Vijay's performance, action sequences and climax while the lack of character development and writing received criticism. It set several box office records for a Tamil film, emerging as the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2024, the third highest-grossing Indian film of 2024, sixth highest-grossing Tamil film of all time, fifth highest-grossing Tamil film in overseas, and the third highest-grossing film in Tamil Nadu.
STORY LINE:
- In 2008 at Kenya, the Special Anti-Terrorism Squad (SATS), consisting of Gandhi, Sunil, Kalyan, and Ajay, intercepts their former chief, Rajiv Menon, who is absconding after being charged with treason. They retrieve stolen uranium from Menon and destroy the train he was on, believing everyone on board, including Menon, to have died. Back in Delhi, the team lives undercover as employees of India Tourism Development Corporation, hiding their real jobs from their families. Gandhi lives with his wife, Anuradha "Anu", who is pregnant, and their five-year-old son, Jeevan.
- Gandhi takes his family along to alleviate Anu's suspicions of infidelity when he is assigned a new mission in Bangkok. After completing the mission, Gandhi and his family are attacked, leading to Anu going into labor, and Jeevan mysteriously disappearing. The police find a charred body they believe to be Jeevan's, leaving Gandhi devastated. Anu delivers a baby girl but stops speaking to Gandhi out of grief.
- By 2024, Gandhi has left the squad and works as an immigration officer at Chennai International Airport. He and Anu live separately, and their daughter Jeevitha lives with Anu. Nazeer, Gandhi's former boss, asks him to go to Moscow to train new officers at the reopened Indian Embassy. Though reluctant, Gandhi agrees, but during his time there, the embassy is attacked by a gang. Gandhi fights them off and is shocked to see one of the attackers, who looks like a younger version of himself. He realizes it is Jeevan and confirms this when Jeevan helps him fend off the attackers. They return to Chennai, and the family reunites, with Anu starting to speak to Gandhi again. However, Nazeer calls Gandhi for an urgent meeting but is attacked by a masked man. Gandhi arrives just in time to fight off the attacker, but Nazeer is killed by the masked figure, who is revealed to be Jeevan.
- Menon survived the train explosion in 2008, but lost his family in the incident. Seeking revenge, Menon tracked Gandhi to Bangkok, kidnapped Jeevan, and placed him in a juvenile facility, instilling fear in him. Menon then “rescued” Jeevan from the facility, earning his trust and renaming him Sanjay. Jeevan, manipulated by Menon, comes to believe Gandhi is responsible for the deaths of his family. Fueled by this hatred, Jeevan dedicates his life to Menon and revenge.
- In the present, Jeevan kills Ajay and then kidnaps Sunil's daughter, Srinidhi. During the kidnap it is revealed that Kalyan had been working with Menon all along. Kalyan then murders Srinidhi. While tracking down Sha, Jeevan's accomplice, Gandhi coincidentally finds Jeevan and arrests him. During an interrogation, Jeevan seizes Sunil's gun, seemingly kills him, and forces Gandhi to escort him out, allowing Jeevan to escape. Sunil is revealed to be alive and kills Kalyan. Jeevan's final plan is to detonate a bomb at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, intending to kill the audience and frame Gandhi. Gandhi, with the help of his brother-in-law Seenu and Jeevitha, manages to get hold of the bomb detonators and confronts Jeevan, killing him atop the stadium.
- In a mid-credits scene, it is revealed that "Jeevan" was actually a clone. The real Jeevan, now a scientist specialising in human cloning, prepares more clones to continue his revenge.
| The Greatest of All Time | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Venkat Prabhu |
| Screenplay by | Venkat Prabhu Ezhilarasu Gunasekaran K. Chandru |
| Dialogues by |
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| Story by | Venkat Prabhu[1] |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Siddhartha Nuni |
| Edited by | Venkat Raajen |
| Music by | Yuvan Shankar Raja |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | see below |
Release date |
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Running time | 183 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | ₹380–400 crore |
| Box office | est. ₹413–416 crore |
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