Darbar (film)

Darbar (/ðʌrbɑːr/ transl. Court) is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by AR Murugadoss, and produced by Allirajah Subaskaran under the banner Lyca Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth, Suniel Shetty, Nayanthara and Nivetha Thomas. It follows Aaditya Arunasalam (Rajinikanth), the commissioner of Mumbai Police, who sets out to curb the city's rampant drug-trafficking and prostitution. When he uncovers a deep controversy linked to an international drug lord, however, he tries to fulfill his secret agenda.

The film is Rajinikanth's first role as a police officer in 27 years following Pandiyan (1992). The project's working title was Thalaivar 167 and the title Darbar was officially announced on 9 April 2019. Principal photography commenced the same month, mostly in Mumbai, and was completed in October 2019. Anirudh Ravichander composed music for the film, the cinematographer was Santosh Sivan and the editor was A. Sreekar Prasad.

Darbar was released theatrically in India on 9 January 2020, coinciding with the Pongal festival. The film met with mixed reviews upon release and grossed ₹202–250 crore crore at the box office, making it the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2020. Despite this, it was considered a poor performer, which caused distributors to threaten hunger strikes and demand Rajinikanth recoup their losses.