Garudan 2024

Karuna [Unni Mukundan] and Aadhi [M. Sasikumar] share a deep childhood bond in Kombai, Theni. As kids, Sokkan, an orphan, is saved by Karuna, and the grateful boy grows loyal in return. The two friends are raised by Karuna’s grandmother, Sellayee [Vadivukarasi], who leads the trustee committee of the Kombai Amman temple. As a zamin heir, Karuna lives in poverty, eking out a meager income from a brick kiln, while Aadhi runs a few lorries. Together they hold sway in Kombai, guiding temple affairs and protecting their community with a quiet, calculating leadership that blends tradition with a blunt sense of justice.

Across the political and economic landscape nearby, Thangapandi [R. V. Udayakumar], a powerful minister in the Registration Department, sets his sights on unclaimed land near Chennai valued at ₹330 crores. The point of leverage is the land that belongs to the Kombai Amman temple, with the original deed hidden away in the temple’s jewellery box. The web of power grows thicker after Sellayee’s death, as Nagaraj [Mime Gopi], Thangapandi’s relative, plots to take control of the temple committee and the temple’s holdings for himself. Sokkan’s arrival as committee head, backed by Aadhi and Karuna, shifts the balance of influence in Kombai, reigniting old loyalties and rivalries.

Nagaraj, sensing an opportunity, needles Karuna’s wife Angayarkanni [Roshini Haripriyan] and his brother-in-law Vairavel [Dushyanth Jayaprakash] with calculated insinuations about money and power, fanning a dangerous wedge within Karuna’s circle. Thangapandi, eager to tighten his grip, pulls Inspector Muthuvel [Samuthirakani] into the coercive plan, coercing him to cooperate with Nagaraj’s schemes. Vairavel, already resentful over being pressured to marry Parveen [Brigida Saga], grows more volatile, feeding discontent that unsettles Aadhi, who has his own complicated history with money and loyalty.

The tension escalates when fake jewels are discovered in the temple jewellery box, drawing Karuna into the suspicion. Aadhi handsKaruna over to the police in a bid to rescue him later with his own assets, but Nagaraj and Vairavel intervene, producing the actual jewels and deepening the rift. Karuna feels betrayed by Aadhi, and the stage is set for a sharp, brutal confrontation that will test every alliance.

At the temple festival, rivals stage a violent bid to seize the jewellery-laden van, traveling from the bank to the temple. Aadhi thwarts the assault, and a chaotic fight erupts with Nagaraj’s henchmen. In the midst of the melee, Sokkan, believed to be possessed by the divine, moves with a rare and terrifying resolve, cutting off Vairavel’s hand and saving Aadhi. The moment crystallizes a brutal truth: the temple deed is now in peril as long as Aadhi lives, and Karuna resolves to act.

Karuna and Nagaraj form a dangerous plan, returning from Kodaikanal with a band of henchmen to eliminate Aadhi. Aadhi’s wife Katyayini, sensing the stakes, urges handing over the bond to fund the development of Kombai. Aadhi agrees, but Karuna and Vairavel strike first, killing Aadhi in a cold, calculated act that shatters many loyalties. Sokkan discovers Aadhi’s body at his house, but his loyalty to Karuna keeps him quiet, even as Karuna rationalizes the killing as self-defense.

The deaths ripple outward as Aadhi’s son Samaran seeks vengeance, while Sokkan tries to shield him. Sokkan protects Samaran by moving him to a different town, but Nagaraj spots the duo and attempts to strike. Sokkan responds decisively, killing Nagaraj and handing himself to the police. Karuna arrives and Sokkan confesses that he killed Nagaraj and Vairavel, a revelation that draws Karuna into a harsh reckoning.

Inside the police lock-up, a former business partner of Karuna reveals a long record of crimes, including Sellayee’s death and a plan to substitute the temple jewels with fakes. The partner’s recordings, shown to Aadhi before his death, implicate Karuna and intensify the danger around the temple’s deeds. On the way to appear before the magistrate, Sokkan escapes and seeks justice at Karuna’s brick kiln, only to be confronted by Karuna, who recognizes that Sokkan knows the truth and responds with brutal force.

Katyayini and Samaran return in search of Vinnarasi, and Karuna roars through them, leaving them battered. Sokkan eventually locates Vinnarasi [Revathy Sharma] in the kiln’s chamber, poised to be cremated alive. In a climactic struggle, Sokkan fights to protect the innocent: he saves Vinnarasi, Katyayini, and Samaran, and, in the process, defeats Karuna. Inspector Muthuvel’s report to his superiors is accompanied by his resignation, and a whispered warning reaches Thangapandi: if Sokkan is convicted, the law will implicate them all. Facing an inescapable moral and legal bind, Sokkan is released, reuniting with Vinnarasi as the shadows of the temple’s greed begin to lift, at least for now.

In the closing moments, the fate of Thangapandi is sealed by a separate tragedy—a road accident that fatally injures him, underscoring the precarious balance of power, loyalty, and revenge that has driven the story from beginning to end.