Rajadhi Raja 2009

In Chittur, Ayyappan is a petty thief who visits his relative, Shekarankutty, a gas station owner, and enjoys a warm family life with his wife Radha and daughter Sreedurga. One day, Shekarankutty is arrested by the police on suspicion of being a Mumbai crime boss called Raja, but he is released when the authorities cannot confirm the charge. That very night, a ruthless group of gangsters—whom Ayyappan once tangled with—storm their home and assault the family. The next day, they relocate to a new house for safety. As Shekarankutty and Ayyappan head to meet the police commissioner, the same gang trails them. They are cornered; Ayyappan attempts to flee, but hesitates when he witnesses Shekarankutty fend off the attackers, exposing the former’s hidden identity as [Raja]. After the clash, Shekarankutty opens up to Ayyappan about his shadowed past.

In the flashback sequence, we see the past come into focus. Shekarankutty arrives in Mumbai with an ambition to build a legitimate business, but ends up driving a cab and crossing paths with his boss, Krishna Vamshi, who entices him with a life in the Indian underworld—promises of money and fame. A brutal act follows: he kills Radha’s brother Chandru, who was loyal to Vamshi, in a bid to rescue District Collector Mahindra Varma’s daughter, who has been kidnapped. Varma, an old friend who changed him and gave him a second chance, remains unaware of Chandru’s death.

Back in the present, Shekarankutty faces threats from Vamshi, who warns that his family will be killed if Varma is not secured. Yet he manages to shield his loved ones just in time. Then comes a mission to eliminate Varma, who now serves as the Chief Secretary in Coimbatore, on the occasion of Varma’s daughter’s wedding. Because Varma’s past help binds him to Shekarankutty, he cannot bring himself to kill Varma, but Vamshi and his cohorts push for Varma’s death, threatening Shekarankutty’s family unless Varma is delivered. Mahindra Varma reveals that he, too, loves his family just as Shekarankutty does, and so Shekarankutty guides Varma to Ahmed Shah instead. The tale culminates in the revelation that Shekarankutty killed Vamshi with the aid of his ally Sikandar, whose own family was torn apart by a bomb blast. Shah and his men attempt to strike Varma, but are themselves slain by Shekarankutty. In the end, the man who walked the line between crime and family manages to bury his violent past and forge a peaceful life with his loved ones.