Naalai Manithan 1989

In 2008, in the bustling city of Chennai, a scientist named Dr. Shankar develops a controversial drug that supposedly brings someone back to life if injected within two hours of death. He works alongside his colleagues Ramesh and Kanth, pushing the boundaries of science in search of a breakthrough. Their early tests are conducted on a dead man named John, and the result appears to be a stunning success. Yet this miracle comes with a dark twist: the drug grants nearly instantaneous immortality, but it also sows a dangerous madness in the revived, turning John into a relentless killer who targets people in the town.

As John’s murderous spree begins, the city reels under a wave of violence. A pivotal chase unfolds when John is caught while attacking a group of youngsters at a resort. He overpowers the pursuing police and escapes the handcuffs, forcing the officers to shoot him. Severely injured, John is transported to the hospital, where the fear of his immortality grows even as the danger he poses becomes more apparent.

Kanth privately urges Shankar to eliminate John, viewing him as a grave threat to society. Unbeknownst to them, John overhears this plan, escapes from the institute, and tracks Kanth to his home. The ensuing confrontation leaves Kanth dead, and tragedy deepens when Kanth’s wife Shree returns home to discover her husband’s body and is killed by John as well. The situation spirals further when Shree’s friend Preethi arrives for a feast—an invitation extended by Shree for Preethi’s upcoming marriage to Vijay. Preethi’s discovery of the carnage confirms the horror that John has unleashed, and the chaotic momentum continues as John slips away just as Vijay arrives on the scene.

With Preethi in danger, Shekar takes her to the institute, while John makes his way back, intent on getting treatment for his wounds. Ramesh, realizing the threat John poses, attempts a desperate measure to end him by injecting acid; instead, John’s immortality proves too resilient, and he kills Ramesh and even Shankar who arrives to try and cure him. The pursuit intensifies as John closes in on Preethi, and Shekar rushes to shield her. The battle leaves Shekar mortally wounded, and Vijay returns just in time to confront the growing menace.

In a burst of courage, Vijay shoots John, who falls from a balcony. Yet the danger isn’t finished: John revives, clings to Vijay’s car, and forces a dramatic escape that ends with a crash and a fire. He sustains serious burns, but his resilience allows him to dive into a nearby lake and recover, re-emerging to press the attack once again. A brutal, high-stakes confrontation follows, with Vijay delivering a flurry of blows that finally drive John into a well. Believing the danger has ended, Vijay and Preethi depart, but the well’s dark depths conceal a chilling truth—John survives, stubbornly clinging to life.

The tale leaves viewers with a grim warning about the price of reviving the dead: even when it seems that harm has been ended, the creatures born of such power can endure, returning to threaten once more. The action is relentless and the tangle of loyalties, fear, and desperation keeps the suspense high as the characters struggle to understand whether any form of safety will ever be possible again.