Karthi has plenty of reason to be happy, as his deepavali release Kaithi has come out to rave reviews and is doing well, despite competition from Vijay-Atlee's biggie, Bigil. He dedicates the success to the hard work and discipline of the entire team. "I see this as a victory for the entire team. It's not just the hard work of me and Lokesh, but a combined effort of all departments. I miss working with the team, as Kaithi is one of the rare sets, where every single person respected the shooting spot and remained perfectly silent during shots. I wish all crews followed the same discipline."

He fondly recalls the experience of driving a lorry throughout the film. "Forget driving it; even climbing a lorry demands a certain amount of fitness. So to make myself comfortable, I practised a week ahead of the shooting." He also speaks about the lorry used in the film. "We chose that lorry only because it looked majestic on camera and the crew was not worried about any difficulties I had to go through. Cinema is the only field that demands that you learn a new skill at the last moment and act like a professional the very next day."

Karthi is convinced that people love him only if he sports a shabby look. "Many ask me to work in films only after making sure that the director promises me a messy look. I guess people like me that way." He adds that he is being bombarded with calls from those wishing he did more films exactly like Kaithi. "A lot of things have to fall in place for a project like this to happen and it is not just in my hands."

Karthi says he was able to connect to the emotions of Dilli easily as he is also a father. "I have a daughter at home; so getting into the shoes of Dilli was easy for me. My father, Sivakumar, also loved the entire father-daughter angle in the film." He identifies himself as a spiritual person like Dilli. "Every single human needs a strong hope to cling on to in life. I believe spirituality gives you that. I'm a spiritual person and I never step out of my house without a small prayer and a streak of Viboodhi on my forehead. Even while shooting for Kaatru Veliyidai, Mani sir used to mock me saying, "Pazham vandhuttaan paarunga." He believes that spirituality is an absolute necessity if a person is either at rock bottom or the apex of success. "It is natural for Dilli to seek solace in spirituality as he has lost everything in life. I guess the same applies to legends who have seen heights in their careers like Rajinikanth sir, Ilaiyaraaja sir and Rahman sir. Spirituality prevents us from taking the wrong lane in life." 

Kaithi ends with the cliffhanger hinting an intriguing untold story of Dilli. The film's director, Lokesh Kanagaraj, who is currently shooting for Thalapathy 64 starring Vijay, had teased the audience by tweeting, "Dilli will be back." Asked about the possibilities of a sequel, Karthi said, "Kaithi 2 is definitely on our minds. Lokesh even called me saying he is ready with the idea for a sequel and he just needs 30 days of my time to wrap the shoot. So, you can expect an announcement from us soon."