N Santhosh, the director of Kanithan is a former assistant of AR Murugadoss, so it is not surprising that the film bears resemblances to his guru's films. The framework of the plot — the hero trying to discover the villain's identity even as the villain is trying to track him down — is similar to the one in Thuppakki (even Ghajini and Ramana involve this set-up but on a minor level); a point made about the villain's men having a presence all over the state brings to mind Ramana, where it was the hero who had eyes everywhere; there is even a scene where the hero is looked down upon because he sp...