Kadhal Desam (1996): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1996, Kadhal Desam is an action, comedy, drama and romance film directed by Kathir, running about 158 minutes.

What it’s about. In a city in Southern India traditional rivalry has always existed between the students of Pachaiyappas and Loyola Colleges respectively. Karthik (Vineeth) is poor and an orphan, who studies in Pachaiyappa's College, lives in a rented room, travels by the bus, hangs out with a number of friends, and is the Captain of his football team. He is also a good poet and daydreams about his dream girl. Arun (Abbas), on the other hand, comes from a rich and wealthy family, studies in Loyola College, drives his own car, hangs out with number of friends, and is also the Captain of his football team. In a nasty inter college riot Arun saves Karthik's life. So in return Karthik lets Arun win in a soccer game because he thinks Arun can't take losses easily.

Who’s in it. Kadhal Desam stars Abbas as Arun, Vineeth Radhakrishnan as Karthik, Tabu as Divya and S. P. Balasubramaniam as Divya's father, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.9/10, Kadhal Desam has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. In US you can rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Kadhal Desam page.

If you liked it. Fans of Kadhal Desam tend to enjoy The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.