Dhruvam 1993

An araachar from Tamil Nadu is hired by prison authorities to hang Hyder Marakkar, a notorious gangster with terrorist links, [Prabhakar]. But the hangman is killed in a road accident, and the case suddenly sours into a shadow of doubt. DIG Marar, watching the pattern unfold, grows convinced that foul play is at work: hangmen are murdered, bribed, or threatened away from their grim duty. His investigations across states reveal a chilling pattern, and every lead seems to melt away into fear and silence.

To get to the bottom of it, Marar teams up with a young police officer, Suresh Gopi as Jose Nariman, and travels to Kamakshipuram to seek out Narasimha Mannadiar, a revered feudal lord who once ruled the hamlet and remains an almost mythic figure to the villagers. Mannadiar, a figure of formidable generosity, fearless justice, and a fierce devotion to peace, commands respect and dread in equal measure. His presence stirs old loyalties and unsettles a network of politicians and cops who fear his influence as much as they fear his conscience. The two officials arrive seeking the help of a trustworthy hangman, only to be steered toward Kasi, the hangman’s brother, who agrees to carry out the execution when others refuse.

Back at Mannadiar’s house, his secretary Ponmani, played by Babu Namboothiri, shares anecdotes from Mannadiar’s life that have helped shape the legend around him. One especially telling tale centers on his younger brother Veeran, a man whose quiet courage and stubborn sense of justice echo the older lord’s own path. Veeran’s heart belonged to Maya, a relationship that sets in motion a chain of choices that redefine the family’s fate. When a young man named Bhadran—Vikram—arrives and claims to be in love with Maya, the parents’ consent to the match without Maya’s own voice becomes a flashpoint. Mannadiar steps in decisively, cancelling Veeran’s doomed betrothal and arranging Maya’s marriage to Bhadran instead. Bhadran’s background as a member of Marakkar’s gang—someone who did not want to kill the DIG—casts him as both ally and target in the brutal power plays that follow, and his future becomes intertwined with Mannadiar’s quest for justice.

As the story advances, Veeran acts to shield Bhadran, and Bhadran is brought into Mannadiar’s orbit as a driver and trusted aide. The shadow of violence soon darkens the path: Marakkar’s operatives strike back, killing Marar’s son and taking Veeran’s life, leaving Mannadiar with a debt of vengeance that can only be paid in blood. The elder patriarch waits for the right moment to strike, biding his time as the stakes rise and the town trembles under the weight of old scores and new power plays.

With Nariman’s help, Mannadiar presses forward. Although Marakkar is technically condemned to die, he finds every possible escape route, turning the prison into a theater of peril where loyalties shift like quicksand. Mannadiar and Bhadran eventually orchestrate a daring plan to bring Marakkar to a different prison, staging a dramatic transfer that hinges on Nariman’s assistance. When the moment arrives for Marakkar to face a fair fight, he initially gains the upper hand, testing Mannadiar’s resolve. In a dramatic turn, Nariman hurls himself onto a dangerous blast—sacrificing himself to save Mannadiar—an act that alters the balance of the confrontation forever. The confrontation ends with Mannadiar rallying his own courage, cutting down Marakkar’s associates, and hanging Marakkar from a tree, delivering vigilante justice in the harsh light of day.

In the courtroom, Mannadiar accepts full responsibility for the violent acts that punctuated Marakkar’s end, transforming Bhadran into a pardoned-witness and sealing Mannadiar’s own fate with a death sentence. The tale that Ponmani shared, the legend Mannadiar has lived, and the price paid for choosing a path of uncompromising justice all converge in a portrait of a man who embodies both reverence and reckoning. The narrative threads together a village’s affection for a fearless leader, the political and criminal forces arrayed against him, and a chain of choices that culminate in a fate sealed by duty, loyalty, and sacrifice. Through the layers of legacy and violence, the story holds a mirror to the cost of peace in a world where power often speaks louder than law, and where one man’s defined moral code becomes the fulcrum of a town’s reckoning.