Adi Kapyare Kootamani 2015

Rev. Fr. Alfred Kattuvilayil presides over a college boys hostel with a strict hand, and his loyal yet ever-optimistic assistant Shaanthappan constantly tries to steer the students toward mischief-free days, though his efforts rarely land as planned. In this tense, comic setting, Adhishta Lakshmi clashes with her father over a boyfriend, and the next day she crosses paths with Bhanu Prasad in the campus canteen. Bhanu has recently lost a gold chain he had lent to a friend to help him out financially, and Lakshmi, with a mix of boldness and mischief, offers him 20,000 rupees to take her to his hostel that very night for reasons she keeps to herself.

Bhanu escorts Lakshmi to the hostel, but as he attempts to leave, the exit is blocked by a growing crowd of students. The pair end up spending the night in Bhanu’s room, a situation that quickly spirals into a game of cat-and-mouse with the warden and Shaanthappan. To ensure he isn’t abandoned, Lakshmi ties Bhanu to a table and sets an alarm for three in the morning, hoping everyone will be asleep by then. Yet dawn arrives at eight, and Bhanu’s friends Bruno, Remo, and Koshi burst in, making it clear that abandoning Lakshmi isn’t easy. Bhanu tries to slip away, but the escape route seems mysteriously repaired and blocked, courtesy of Fr. Alfred and Shaanthappan. When Bhanu eventually aims for the main entrance, the college campus reveals itself to be shut due to a strike, forcing the pair back into Bhanu’s room.

Meanwhile, Lakshmi’s father learns from an auto-rickshaw driver that his daughter may have eloped, and he begins a frantic search with his goons. The two stay hidden inside Bhanu’s room all day, scheming to slip out via the terrace that night. That plan hits a snag when Bhanu checks the terrace and finds his friends partying, boozing, and completely engrossed in their own mischief. They pressure Bhanu into drinking as well, and in the chaos, Lakshmi, locked inside Bhanu’s room, slips from sight.

Shanthappan, wandering near Bhanu’s room, hears Lakshmi speaking in Tamil in her sleep and mistakes it for a ghost. He steals the key from Bhanu’s pocket and ventures in, only to be knocked aside by an impulsive Lakshmi who bolts into Bruno’s room. The situation grows chaotic as Shanthappan is knocked out, and the next morning Fr. Alfred is pressured by Shaanthappan to inspect Bhanu’s room for any sign of the ghost. The room is opened reluctantly, revealing Lakshmi’s absence but triggering a chorus of rumors about a haunting. Lakshmi then reveals her true motive: she came to the hostel to exact revenge on her ex-boyfriend, Prem Raj, after he ended their relationship via text and later slapped him when she confronted him in his room.

As the staff intensifies their search for booze across the hostel, a string of lighthearted, slapstick moments ensue. Lakshmi cleverly evades capture by moving from room to room and even hiding in Koshi’s sunshade. At night, Bhanu discovers Remo flirting with Lakshmi, and their tension adds a layer of doubt to Bhanu’s protective instincts.

When an attempt is made to escort Lakshmi out through the terrace later that night, Fr. Alfred and Shaanthappan spot her in a white dress and fear a ghost has appeared. The trio devises a new plan: stage a ghost and a dramatic exorcism using an Ouija board to compel the “haunting” to end, with Lakshmi stepping in as the ghost to help speed her exit from the hostel. They prepare with fake blood and smoky effects bought from the market, while Lakshmi’s father’s goons close in, only to be repelled by a show of improvised bravado from Bhanu and his comrades.

The late-night scheme takes an unexpected turn when the Ouija board summons an actual ghost, and the malevolent spirit begins to roam the corridors. Yet the students’ raucous pranksters—the trio of Bruno, Remo, and Koshi—continue their disruptive stunts, including fire, fake blood, and shattered glass, to keep the others distracted. Despite the supernatural moments, Lakshmi remains poised to carry out her plan, and after Fr. Alfred performs a belated exorcism, she finally exits the hostel as intended. The genuine specter lingers in the hallways, appearing suddenly in the corridor to deliver a chilling jump scare.

The credits roll with Lakshmi back at home. Bhanu visits with the bag she left behind, and she tests him once more: will he simply return the bag or reveal a deeper emotion? She asks him to wait until three in the morning when her father and his goons would be quiet, hinting at a future trap that will flip the dynamic—leaving Bhanu to realize just how closely his fate mirrors the one Lakshmi once faced inside the hostel.