Paiyaa (transl. Boy) is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language action-adventure film directed by N. Lingusamy and produced by N. Subash Chandra Bose under the banner Thirrupathi Brothers. The film stars Karthi and Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead roles, while Milind Soman, Jagan and Sonia Deepti appear in supporting roles. The music was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, and the cinematography and editing were handled by R. Madhi and Anthony, respectively.

Following a lengthy pre-production phase, during which the film underwent major changes in its main cast and technical crew, shooting began in December 2008 at various locations throughout South India, most notably in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

Paiyaa was released on 2 April 2010 to positive reviews from critics and became a huge box office success. The Telugu version titled Awara was released on 21 May 2010. The film was remade in Bengali as Jaaneman and in Kannada as Ajith.

Shiva is a carefree young man who stays in Bangalore in search of a job and has a loyal group of friends. One day, Shiva sees a beautiful woman named Charulatha "Charu," who is also looking for a job. Shiva is immediately attracted to Charu and subsequently spots her on various occasions and follows her. Shiva waits at the railway station to pick up a friend and the owner of a Mitsubishi Lancer. Shiva is confronted by a tense Charu, along with a Telugu-speaking man. They assume that Shiva is a cab driver and ask him to take them to Chennai. An excited Shiva accepts the offer and takes them.

While stopping to refuel the car, Charu suddenly requests Shiva to drive, leaving the man behind; Shiva does as she wishes and takes off. After unsuccessful efforts to reach the airport and railway station, Charu asks Shiva to take her to Mumbai. Shiva instantly agrees. He tries to get into a conversation with Charu, who initially refuses to talk, but eventually gives in and tells him about her background. It comes to light that Charu's mother, who had always supported her daughter, died after a violent altercation with her father. Since then, her father has tried to force Charu to marry an unknown man of his choice. Not willing to bow to her father's wishes, Charu had escaped from home, but was later found by her father's business partner named Jayaraman. He was about to take her to register the marriage arranged by her father when Charu tried to escape, leaving him behind at the filling station.

Charu wants to leave for Mumbai to stay at her grandmother's home. However, Charu is being followed by a gang, led by a furious Telugu-speaking lady. Shiva manages to lose the pursuers and decides to change the route, but encounters a second gang. Shiva realises that this gang is not following Charu, but himself as they are the henchmen of a Mumbai-based gangster, Baali. Shiva recalls an incident that happened some years ago in Mumbai, when he stayed there at his friend Poochi's house. Shiva had beaten one of Baali's men, who had attacked him, and later Baali himself, not knowing about him and his reputation in the city, and returned to Bangalore. Both gangs are following the couple to achieve their own ends.

After reaching Mumbai and experiencing a series of events, they end up at Poochi's house. Poochi finds out where the grandmother lives, and Shiva brings Charu there. Unable to bear the thought that the journey is complete, Shiva leaves silently, only to find Charu on the road. After hesitation, Charu reveals that her relatives had spoken ill about her parents, which prompted her to leave. While in a state of doubt, they are attacked by Baali's gang, who have teamed up with Jayaraman. Shiva saves Charu from the goons. While on their way back to Bangalore, Shiva's friends arrive to meet him. Priya, whom Shiva has called often, tells Charu of his feelings for her. Charu reciprocates Shiva's love, as she too has fallen for him during the journey.

In September 2007, while working on Bheemaa, a film starring Vikram, Lingusamy announced that Karthi would star in his next venture to be launched in January 2008. He said that he had written a story "suitable for Karthi", further adding that it would be "an action oriented film". The following month, sources suggested that he was planning a bilingual project, filming simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu with Karthi and Ram Charan, respectively. However, in early November, reports claimed that Vishal would portray the protagonist after Lingusamy had considered Jayam Ravi for the lead character. The reports proved to be false and Karthi was confirmed as the lead actor of the film.