Attakathi

Attakathi
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Pa. Ranjith
Produced by	C. V. Kumar
Written by	Pa. Ranjith
Starring	Dinesh Nandita Aishwarya Rajesh
Narrated by	Pa. Ranjith
Music by	Santhosh Narayanan
Cinematography	P. K. Varma
Edited by	Leo John Paul
Production company	Thirukumaran Entertainment
Distributed by	Studio Green
Release date	15 August 2012 (2012-08-15)
Running time	125 Minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil
Budget	₹25 million (US$370,000)
Box office	₹100 million (US$1.5 million)

Attakathi (English: Cardboard Knife) is a 2012 Indian Tamil romantic comedy film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith, a former assistant of Venkat Prabhu. Produced by Thirukumaran Entertainment and distributed by Studio Green, it stars Dinesh, Nandita and Aishwarya Rajesh. The film garnered attention after being praised and promoted by several acclaimed directors. It was released on 15 August 2012. Attakathi fetched positive reviews and emerged successful at the box office.

Dinakaran (Dinesh) referred as Atta among his friends is a regular semi-urban teenager growing up in a small village in the outskirts of Chennai. He did well in his school exams, but failed his English paper. Rather than studying for the second attempt, he wastes time looking for a girlfriend since he has made a pact with his best friends; to fall in love and get married.

Dinakaran first falls for a girl he meets at the bus stop named Poornima (Nandita). She appears to like him too as she smiles at him and accepts his gifts. But when he goes after her, she suddenly refers to him as 'elder brother' and tells him to stop following her around as she feels awkward. Dinakaran tries to feel sad, but he cannot since he was never really in love in the first place. It was just an infatuation. Dinakaran next starts wooing a distant relative who comes visiting at his house. Unfortunately, she turns out to have fallen in love with his elder brother. He then gets beaten up by the boys at a neighboring village for following two of their girls. He learns martial arts to protect himself and impress the girls, but nothing of that sort works out.

Dinakaran finally gives up on falling in love and concentrates on his studies. He finally passes his English test and enrolls into the local college. He is taken under the wing of an overprotective senior, who is the self-proclaimed underground student leader whom everyone refers to as 'route thala' or designated don of a route/street. Dinakaran's life takes a sudden turn as he mixes with the wrong group. He becomes less sociable and is always involved in fights and other problems. When his senior finally graduates, he makes Dinakaran the next 'route thala.' Dinakaran takes his responsibility very seriously and is soon both respected and feared by all the students in his college.