Don 2022

Chakaravarthi, portrayed by Sivakarthikeyan, is a famous film director who is desperate to make it to college, and as he drives, he narrates the story of his college days. The film unfolds through his memories, inviting the viewer to see how a young man with big dreams navigates family expectations, friendships, and first love.

In the past, Chakaravarthi’s father, Ganesan, is a stern man who cares deeply about his son’s studies and wants him to become a civil engineer. Ganesan, portrayed by Samuthirakani, values discipline and achievement above all, and he pushes Chakaravarthi toward a conventional path even as the young man secretly resents the pressure. The tension between father and son forms the emotional backbone of the story, setting the stage for choices that will test loyalty, love, and ambition.

Chakaravarthi falls in love with Angayarkanni, known as Angu, Priyanka Arul Mohan. At first she keeps her distance, but affection quietly grows between them. Their budding romance faces a wall when Angu’s father and Chakaravarthi’s father clash over the nature of their relationship, forcing Chakaravarthi to deny his bond with Angu to avoid a family confrontation. The complexity of their feelings adds a poignant layer to the push-pull between desire, duty, and fear of consequences.

Chakaravarthi joins BEC (Best Engineering College) in Coimbatore, where the campus life is shaped by a disciplinarian figure, Professor Bhoominathan, played by S. J. Suryah. Bhoominathan’s stern methods and demanding standards dampen the students’ enthusiasm, and Chakaravarthi quickly engineers a daring plan: send Bhoominathan away to become a visiting professor at St. Paul’s University in Russia so that the students can enjoy a freer, more hopeful college experience. This bold move earns him the nickname “Don” of the college, a title that hints at his growing influence and the unspoken power struggles around him.

As Chakaravarthi navigates his new life at BEC, Angu reappears and befriends Lilly, a first-year student. Lilly’s openness helps the couple reconnect, even as Angu’s own past—how her father’s sanction and silence following a school incident—looms over her present. The trio interacts in ways that blend friendship with flaring, unspoken romance, and the film pays careful attention to the quiet moments when trust and connection are built.

Chakaravarthi’s creativity comes alive when he makes a short film. The project becomes a way to bridge gaps with Angu and her father, and a touching moment sees Angu’s father soften as the two reconnect through art. Angu begins to reciprocate her feelings, and the campus starts to believe that a brighter path might be possible for both of them. Yet Bhoominathan’s sudden return from Russia after two months upends this fragile peace, and he discovers that Chakaravarthi engineered his exile. The revival of old grievances triggers a chain of retaliatory moves: Bhoominathan’s assistant photographs Chakaravarthi and Angu at the Taj Mahal, which Bhoominathan uses to complain to Killivallavan, the BEC chairman depicted as a stern, calculating authority.

In response, Chakaravarthi presents Killivallavan with a photograph of Bhoominathan with Miss Swetha at the Taj Mahal, a gambit that intensifies the rift between the college’s leadership and its most charismatic student. Killivallavan, disappointed and wary, weighs the consequences of these actions within a culture of reputation and power.

Meanwhile, Ganesan uncovers the truth about Chakaravarthi’s test scores, feeling betrayed and furious enough to slap his son in a powerful moment of revelation. This discovery deepens the rift at home and pushes Chakaravarthi toward filmmaking as a form of reckoning. He secretly films portions of the college with cameraman Perusu, a risky move that foreshadows greater conflicts. Perusu is a key ally in the story’s visual storytelling, helping Chakaravarthi capture scenes that can tell truths words cannot express.

The tension crescendos when Bhoominathan learns of the secret filming. A chaotic confrontation ensues, resulting in an accident that injures Bhoominathan’s neck, though he ultimately survives. Killivallavan’s response is swift and harsh: Chakaravarthi is dismissed from the college, a punitive blow meant to restore order and demonstrate the authority’s dominance.

Ganesan’s discovery of his son’s filmmaking, and the subsequent destruction of the short film, triggers a fierce family showdown. The fallout is devastating: Chakaravarthi leaves home, and Ganesan dies shortly after, an event that shifts the tone from rebellion to reflection, forcing the protagonist to reckon with the sacrifices behind parental love. Bhoominathan gradually recovers and, in a surprising turn, the two grow into a constructive rapport. He shares with Chakaravarthi that he spoke with Killivallavan and reveals a path to legitimacy: if Chakaravarthi clears all arrears, he could earn his engineering degree, allowing the feud to end and a new chapter to begin.

With renewed purpose, Chakaravarthi’s short film earns a place among the top entries and even becomes a feature film, titled Untold Love. The project centers on Chakaravarthi’s emotional bond with his late father Ganesan, and it becomes a testament to a father’s quiet, unwavering care that had shaped the course of his life. The film’s success propels the dream forward, culminating in a public recognition that transcends personal grievances and marks a turning point for Chakaravarthi.

As the story reaches its climactic arc, Chakaravarthi marries Angu, sealing a personal victory born out of commitment, courage, and a willingness to chart his own course. In the present, his motive remains clear: college is the arena where he can finally prove himself, not merely as a filmmaker but as a son and a man seeking his own path.

In the final act, Chakaravarthi returns to the campus with a renewed purpose. He earns his degree from Bhoominathan, who has become a mentor rather than an obstacle, and he is welcomed into the Proud Alumni list at BEC. The emotional finale features a speech to students and audiences, accompanied by a vision of his father Ganesan applauding from beyond, a symbolic nod to the enduring influence of loved ones who push us toward better versions of ourselves.

• The film’s heartbeat is the transformation of ambition into responsibility, of rebellion into belonging, and of love into a lasting legacy. Through triumphs and trials, Chakaravarthi’s journey becomes a portrait of ambition tempered by memory, a story told in flashback and fed by the steady, compassionate guidance of those who believed in him from the start. The end leaves us with a sense of closure and a hopeful affirmation: hard-earned dreams, when paired with family, can lead to a life that is not only successful but meaningful.