Keep your shortlist together and see where it’s streaming
2021 · Tamil · 2h 32m · Drama, Action · CBFC U/A
Keep your shortlist together and see where it’s streaming
Filmi Score
Exceptional
6 reviews
82
5 exceptional1 good
What the critics say
Critics overwhelmingly call Karnan a masterpiece, praising Dhanush's performance, the cinematography, score and its powerful handling of caste oppression, with only a few noting it runs long and predictable.
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The reviewer calls Karnan a masterpiece in every aspect, praising Dhanush's performance and the emotional climax, and urges viewers to stream it… Watch it there →
The reviewer loved Karnan, praising its tight script, world-building, performances, cinematography and music as best-in-class, and closes by… Watch it there →
Tyagi praises Karnan's dense symbolism, score, performances and directorial craft as a vital telling of caste violence, wishing only that… Watch it there →
The critic calls Karnan an authentic, arresting drama anchored by Dhanush's stellar performance and award-worthy technical craft, while noting the… Read it there →
The reviewer describes a village caught between OTT-familiar tropes and heavy metaphor around identity, humiliation and lack of opportunity,… Watch it there →
Derived by Filmi
50
How this number was made. We read every review and derive a 0–100 reading from each — including where the critic printed a number, which stays first on its row, because it’s theirs. The Filmi Score is the mean of 6 readings; 1 of those rows also carry the critic’s own rating, shown beside ours. Rubric v2.1, computed 26 Oct 2026. Any critic can ask us to remove a derived reading.
PublishedStated in videoDerived by FilmiNo score
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Karnan: quick answers
Box office, where to watch and what critics said — from the same data as the page.
Where can I watch Karnan?
Karnan is streaming on OTT: Prime Video (India, the US, the UK and Canada). It can also be rented or bought on Amazon Video (India), Google Play Movies (the US) and YouTube (the US, the UK and Canada). Availability comes from JustWatch and is checked every Friday.
What did critics say about Karnan?
Karnan has a Filmi Score of 82 (Exceptional), the mean of 6 readings of critic reviews, one per review. Readings run from 50 (Cinema with Varun) to 90 (Suraj Kumar). Every review and how it was scored is listed below.
What readers say
The Audience Score appears once three readers’ reviews have been read under the rubric — built from what people write, never from the rating numbers.