Terrorists tried to kill the Prime Minister, Chandrakanth Varma, in New Delhi, but security services were able to stop the attack, save the PM, and send him to his office.

However, the Minister for Communications, Vasudev, was killed as collateral damage, and his daughter Anjali is the PM's junior office secretary.

Rajan Mahadev, a business tycoon and a public figure, meets Varma to discuss ways of retaliation.

Kathir and Joseph try to track the killer, but he diverts them by murdering the sniper with a small bomb blast and escapes.

Abhishek plans to close the mines, but Mahadev, the owner, opposes his decision, resulting in a political conflict.

Mahadev seemingly agrees but secretly plans to release both male and female caelifera, which will ensure the destruction of the crops without any chances of revival and allow him to establish his mining company without further problems.

Ranjith enters the control room at the press conference and plans to kill Abhishek on Mahadev's orders.

In a flashback, Kathir had found the bomb in the jacket earlier and left the bulletproof vest in Mahadev's car.

Arya replaced Allu Sirish who opted out of the film due to scheduling conflicts, making his first collaboration with Suriya.

[16][17] The film was shot on multiple locations at various places across the world including New York, Brazil, New Delhi and Hyderabad.

[20][21][22] Initially, Gavemic U. Ary of Jigarthanda fame was announced as the cinematographer of the film, but in a turn of events Abhinandan Ramanujam replaces him.

Although the majority of fans voted for Uyirkaa,[26] on 31 December 2018, Lyca Productions announced the film's title as Kaappaan.

On 31 December 2018, Lyca Productions announced the film's title as Kaappaan, following by two first look posters released on the New Year's Day, 1 January 2019.

[39] The Times of India rated 2 out of 5 stars stating "KV Anand's Kaappaan feels like one of those patriotic films that Vijayakanth and Arjun frequently made in the 90s, but is not as entertaining as those".

[42] The Hindu stated, "KV Anand's latest collaboration with his favourite leading man is a painstakingly long thriller, that neither has soul nor brain".

"[45] The Indian Express rated 1 out of 5 stars stating "KV Anand fills Kaappaaan with props, in his never-ending endeavour to create that elusive surreal ambience.

"[47] Nettv4u rated 3 out of 5 stars stating "The racy thriller with power-packed performances and the high-octane action sequences is sure to win the hearts.

"[48] The News Minute rated 2 out of 5 stars stating "Other than Suriya, nobody in the SPG looks like they've even slow jogged on the treadmill, let alone performed miraculous high security ops.

"[49] The Week rated 2 out of 5 stars stating "The predictable screenplay, which reminds you of some old Vijayakanth or Arjun films, is disappointing as it comes from Anand who has had some decent outings with Suriya earlier, like Maattraan and Ayan.

[10][5] An internet meme began trending on social media platforms in late May 2020, in which Suriya's films were coincided with real life incidents, that happened around the world.