Kshetram 2011

In the village of Kshetram, a shrine to Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy was erected about a century ago by King Naga Penchalayya of the Krishnadevaraya lineage. To shield the sacred idol from invaders, it was hidden deep in the forest, and through generations the people prayed for its return, yet the temple’s prosperity remained elusive.

Today, Chakradeva Rayalu, known as Chakri, studies abroad and returns with a North Indian girlfriend, Sohini Agarwal Priyamani. Spotting her, Chakri’s father Viswanatha Rayalu Adithya Menon is unsettled, for she bears an uncanny resemblance to Lakshmi Priyamani, the wife of his elder brother Veera Narasimharayalu Jagapati Babu.

Meanwhile, the temple’s prominent priest, Venkatacharya Tanikella Bharani, presses Chakri to complete the ritual, a demand that casts a long shadow over his hesitant choices. To surprise everyone, Chakri asks Sohini to dress as his aunt, and she obliges. But the moment spirals into tragedy as she becomes frenzied and slays Viswanatha Rayalu, plunging the clan into shock.

Sohini then travels to Chakri’s ancestral house, where strange, unsettling supernatural happenings begin to unfold. On a tip-off, Venkatacharya calls a sacred saint from the Sri Chakra Pettam, who exposes the spirit inside Sohini. It is Lakshmi who speaks, revealing a long-buried history that has chained the present to the past.

Twenty-five years earlier, Veera Narasimharayalu had stood as a venerable arbiter, ensuring the region’s safety and prosperity. Lakshmi, his devoted wife, shared a profound bond with him, while Viswanatha Rayalu, a malevolent figure, coveted that power and waited for a moment to claim it, even wearing the facade of Veera Narasimharayalu to mislead the people. In a violent turn, Veera Narasimharayalu was betrayed and slain, and Lakshmi was killed along with the family. Before dying, Lakshmi vowed to finish the ritual as Naga Penchalamma.

From that point on, Lakshmi’s soul urges Chakradeva Rayalu to fulfill their shared dream, a legacy he inherits with traits of Veera Narasimharayalu. The ritual reaches its culmination as the idol is installed, and Lakshmi’s spirit dissolves into the cosmos. The film ends on a triumphal note, with the public applauding the sacred sacrifice of Veera Narasimharayalu and Lakshmi, who remain immortal in history.