Natpe Thunai 2019

Prabhakaran [Rajmohan Arumugam] is a carefree young man from Pondicherry whose dream is to move to France. He travels to Karaikal, where he falls for Deepa, Anagha a hockey player. Through her, he meets Shanmugam, Harish Uthaman a kindhearted retired military man who coaches the local hockey team.

A corporate company targets the ground where Shanmugam’s players train, aided by the local politician Harichandran. By filing an RTI petition about the company, Shanmugam learns they plan to build a factory on the field that would pollute nearby rivers and harm villagers. To save the ground, Shanmugam’s students must compete with the Pondicherry hockey team and win the match. While selecting players, he learns that Prabha is the 2012 Junior World Cup Indian hockey team captain who was banned for three years. When Shanmugam asks Prabha to join the team and help them win, he refuses and shares his past and the reasons for leaving hockey.

Prabha and Azhar, his childhood friend, are both hockey players. Prabha is an attacker, while Azhar defends. After being scouted by national selectors, Prabha joins the Indian national team and later becomes captain of the 2012 Junior World Cup squad, while Azhar is rejected by the team. Azhar’s coach mocks his ambitions and his financial status, telling him to help his father in the fishing business. Grief drives Azhar to a drastic step, and one of Prabha’s friends loses a leg when a fellow player is struck by a train during a bid to help him. Enraged, Prabha confronts his coach and is banned for three years.

Shanmugam then organizes a protest against the corporate project with his students and local residents. Harichandran uses dirty tricks to thwart the effort and to block Shanmugam’s team from succeeding in the hockey tournament, while later allying with Prabha’s former coach to undermine them.

Seeing the suffering of the people, Prabha decides to rejoin the hockey squad and reclaim the ground. Shanmugam and Prabha train the team, and after facing many obstacles, they win the match and reclaim the ground. Back on the field, Harichandran, now out of power, gives a press speech celebrating Shanmugam’s team’s victory. He confronts Prabha, questioning whether people will elect a leader who acts for them without money, leaving Prabha with no ready answer.