Rathnam 2024

Past: Three men orchestrate a brutal bus accident that kills every passenger, robs them of money and jewelry, and even attacks a police van, pushing it off a cliff. One of the trio is Panneer Selvam (Samuthirakani). A woman escapes the chaos, boards a bus, and later works in a village to support her son. The boy, in a moment of desperate defense, ends up killing a pimp who threatens the woman, and the man who orchestrated the escape takes the boy under his protection.

Present: Rathnam (Vishal Krishna) is a loyal henchman for MLA Panneer Selvam in Vellore. When Panneer informs him that a rogue ward councillor tried to sexually assault a girl, the victim jumps from a vehicle and is injured. Rathnam retaliates by beating the councillor’s men and killing the councillor with a chainsaw. He soon protects Malliga, a medical student who is a lookalike of his late mother Loganayagi, from land-grabbers Beema Rayudu and his brothers Subba Rayudu and Raghava Rayudu. Malliga’s family refuses to sell their land, which Beema and his brothers want for a medical college, and Rathnam steps in to shield her with help from Panneer Selvam, also revealing Malliga’s striking resemblance to Loganayagi.

Malliga, acting on Rathnam’s counsel, agrees to sell the land to fund the medical college. In response, Rathnam eliminates Subba Rayudu and warns Beema Rayudu that he will finish both Beema Rayudu and Raghava Rayudu. When confronted by Panneer Selvam, Rathnam opens up about his past: he has learned about his true family and Loganayagi’s history, and he explains how Beema Rayudu, Subba Rayudu, and Raghava Rayudu are Loganayagi’s brothers—Dharmalingam, Punniyakodi, and Keshavan—and what happened to them.

Back in the past, the three men had committed robberies. Loganayagi learned of their crimes and tried to stop them, but they escaped. Rathnam’s father, a police officer investigating the case, confronted them and was killed by the trio, while Loganayagi survived and escaped. Loganayagi gave birth to Rathnam but later died by suicide after being branded as a prostitute by a pimp. Rathnam had killed the pimp in a separate act that tied back to his earlier encounter with Panneer Selvam.

In the present, Rathnam introduces Malliga to his family. Beema Rayudu learns of this union and launches an assault on Rathnam’s kin, leaving several members dead. Rathnam hunts Beema Rayudu and brutally finishes Raghava Rayudu, ultimately beheading Beema Rayudu and surrendering to the police. Before heading to prison, Rathnam asks Malliga to marry someone and to name their child after him. Malliga, overwhelmed by the moment, breaks into tears and embraces Rathnam.