Pithamagan 2003

An anonymous woman dies while giving birth in a graveyard. Her child, Chiththan [Vikram], is found and raised by the graveyard’s caretaker Mu Ramaswamy. Chiththan grows up among corpses with little human contact, moving with a beast-like instinct while still showing a surprising sense of loyalty and social longing. He ventures into a nearby town in search of food and quickly discovers that money is a strange concept to him, landing him in trouble until a sharp-eyed Gomathi Sangeetha Krish takes him in. She recognizes his capacity for loyalty and arranges for him to work under her boss, Sekar Vasudevan, a powerful figure in the local marijuana trade. When a drug raid leads to his arrest, Chiththan finds himself behind bars.

Sakthi [Suriya] is a con artist who thrives on clever schemes but ends up entangled in trouble after deceiving a woman named Manju [Laila] in a dice game. Manju’s detective work lands Sakthi in jail, where he crosses paths with Chiththan in prison. Out of sympathy and a budding sense of protection, Sakthi begins shielding the newer inmate, and Chiththan responds with unwavering loyalty. As the years pass, Sakthi completes his term and clashes with Sekar Vasudevan to secure Chiththan’s release. When the latter is freed, he follows his master’s orders and commits a murder by burning the body of a victim, a crime that binds him even more closely to Sekar’s ruthless world.

Realizing that Chiththan is being pulled into crimes beyond his comprehension, Sakthi intervenes to protect him from a life tethered to the marijuana fields. Meanwhile, a quiet romance blossoms between Sakthi and Manju, and Chiththan begins to sense a kinship with Gomathi, who treats him with a gentleness he never expected. The police begin to close in on the murder, and Chiththan is arrested again. Sakthi persuades Chiththan to align with the police as an informant, hoping to steer him toward a safer path. But Sekar violently turns on Sakthi, killing him and dumping his body in the middle of the road.

Chiththan struggles to process the sight of Sakthi’s corpse and zones out as the mourners surround the body. Gomathi, Manju, and others cry, but Gomathi sees Chiththan’s confusion as indifference and drives him away from the scene. Over time, Chiththan slowly grasps that Sakthi is truly dead, a realization that finally sinks in as he awakens to the sight of Sakthi’s burnt remains by the morning light. The emotional shock unlocks feelings he has never felt—fury, agony, betrayal, and pain—and he resolves to take revenge on Sekar.

Fueled by a need for reparation, Chiththan sets fire to the marijuana fields, making Sekar feel the weight of his loss. He then delivers a carefully measured pursuit through the streets, breaking bones one by one until he is ready to end the pursuit. The final blow comes when he sinks his teeth into Sekar’s neck, claiming vengeance for the life and trust that Sekar profited from at the expense of others. With nothing left to lose, he leaves the village behind, carrying with him a new and brutal understanding of loyalty, power, and what it means to be truly free.