Vettaiyan (/veɪttəjən/ transl. Hunter) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by T. J. Gnanavel and produced by Subaskaran Allirajah‘s Lyca Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth as Athiyan, a senior police officer, who accidentally shoots an innocent person during an encounter killing, while investigating the murder of a teacher. The cast also features Amitabh Bachchan (in his Tamil debut), Fahadh Faasil, Rana Daggubati, Manju Warrier, Ritika Singh, Dushara Vijayan, Rohini, Rao Ramesh, Abhirami and Ramesh Thilak.

The film was officially announced in March 2023 under the tentative title Thalaivar 170, as it is the 170th film with Rajinikanth as lead actor, and the official title was announced in December 2023. Principal photography commenced in October 2023 and ended in August 2024. It was shot in several locations including Thiruvananthapuram, Tirunelveli, Chennai, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. The film has music composed by Anirudh Ravichander, cinematography handled by S. R. Kathir and editing by Philomin Raj.

Vettaiyan released worldwide on 10 October 2024 in theatres, coinciding with Vijayadashami, to mixed reviews from critics who praised Rajinikanth’s performance and technical aspects while the storyline and pacing received criticism. Although emerging as the third highest-grossing Tamil film of 2024, tenth highest-grossing Indian film of 2024 and the fifteenth highest-grossing Tamil film of all time, it underperformed at the box-office.

• Rajinikanth as SP V. Athiyan IPS (Vettaiyan)
• Amitabh Bachchan as Justice Dr. Sathyadev Bramhadutt Pande, National Human Rights Commission of India
• Fahadh Faasil as Cyber Patrick “Battery”
• Rana Daggubati as Natraj “Nat” Shanmugam
• Manju Warrier as Thara Athiyan
• Ritika Singh as ASP Roopa Kiran
• Dushara Vijayan as Saranya, A Teacher
• Asal Kolaar as Guna
• Krish Hassan as Sathish, Guna’s friend
• Rohini as DSP Nazeema, Indian Economic Service
• Abhirami as Swetha Dhakshinamoorthy
• Rao Ramesh as DGP D. Shrinivas
• Ramesh Thilak as Anbu, Office peon
• Kishore as SP K. Harish Kumar
• Rakshan as Dharan, Athiyan’s nephew
• G. M. Sundar as Inspector Lourdhu Samy
• Sabumon Abdusamad as Kumaresan
• Supreeth as Hanu Reddy
• Shaji Chen as Chennai Police Commissioner K. Virendar^[6][7]
• R. Aravindraj as V. Rathinam, Tamil Nadu Home Minister
• Alencier Ley Lopez as Combined Courts Judge
• Remya Suresh as Saranya’s mother
• Ananth Nag as ASP Ram
• Birla Bose as an Inspector
• B. S. Avinash as Perusu
• Kalki Raja as Kumaresan’s sidekick
• Thanmaya as Chithra, Guna’s sister
• Vasanthi as Guna’s mother
• Aruvi Bala as a compounder
• Sri Deva as a NAT Academy agent
• Aroul D. Shankar as Education Minister
• Vinod Sagar as a politician
• Krishnudu as Kadapa Head Constable Srinivasa Rao
• Anirudh Ravichander as himself in the song “Manasilaayo”