Kaali is a 1980 Indian action film written by Mahendran and directed by I. V. Sasi. Produced by Hem-Nag, the film stars Rajinikanth, Seema, Fatafat Jayalaxmi and Shubha. The film was simultaneously made in Tamil and Telugu languages, with Chiranjeevi replacing Vijayakumar in Telugu. The cinematography was handled by Ashok Kumar and soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Kaali ran for less than 50 days in Chennai and was considered a box office failure in both Tamil and Telugu.

J. Alexander, known professionally as Mahendran, was an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor, known for his work in the Tamil film industry. Mahendran is regarded as one of the greatest film makers of Tamil cinema and has influenced several filmmakers of the generations that followed.