Nerrukku Ner 1997

Raghu and Shanthi live a quiet life in Chennai, where Raghu works as a passport-issuing officer and tries to be a dutiful husband even after a painful confession. He reveals to Shanthi that he had an affair with a coworker during a trip to Goa, a truth that shatters their marriage and drives Shanthi to seek refuge at her mother’s house. Raghu, now determined to become a better man, struggles to repair the trust he fractured, even as Shanthi’s sister’s home becomes her shelter. He begs for forgiveness with quiet remorse, but the breach appears too deep to simply mend.

The couple’s tension ripples through their families. Raghu’s brother Vijay stands as a supportive figure, while Shanthi’s brother Suriya is steady, though emotionally restrained. Their disagreements spill into public scenes and cinema halls, creating a rift that invites blame from both sides. As the quarrels persist, both brothers find their own paths to happiness: [Vijay] falls for Akhila, and [Suriya] forms feelings for Asha. The budding romances bring a glimmer of hope into a tense, fragile situation, even as the shadow of the past continues to haunt the two families.

A turning point arrives when Raghu encounters a bundle of cash on his desk and learns it comes from Muthukumaraswamy, a controversial businessman wanted by the police for forex fraud. Muthukumaraswamy, who has been forced to flee, needs a fake passport to escape the country. With his own passport confiscated by the authorities, he presses Raghu to help him obtain one, threatening that Raghu will face consequences if he refuses. Raghu, true to his principles, phones the police instead. Muthukumaraswamy’s anger fuels a vow of revenge, and the stage is set for a collision between duty and crime that will test Raghu’s resolve like never before.

As marital strain continues, Raghu and Shanthi decide to pursue a Hindu Law of Divorce, and the court awards custody of their daughter Sona to her mother while she remains under the care of Shanthi’s sister. The family dynamics grow more complicated as their son-like protectiveness for Sona surfaces in new ways, and the legal decisions add pressure on Raghu to reconcile with Shanthi while shielding their daughter from the turmoil around them.

The plot thickens when Suriya takes Sona to a festival, and in the chaos of the event, little Sona disappears. A frantic search ensues, and Vijay rushes to the scene, bringing Sona to Raghu after she is found hurt in a fall from a Ferris wheel. Sona survives but is left deaf in one ear, a blow that intensifies the stakes for her family as they navigate the aftermath of the accident. The family’s sense of safety is shaken, and the question of custody becomes even more urgent as [Suriya] reappears, anxious to locate his niece and make sense of the jumbled events.

Tensions flare when Sona goes missing again, and [Suriya] and [Vijay] race against time to reunite her with her rightful guardians. Raghu’s revelation—claiming that Sona is not with his sister but has been abducted by Muthukumaraswamy—stirs anger and fear among everyone as they wrestle with the law and with their own loyalties. Raghu’s involvement in the past—including the troubling decision to turn a blind eye to someone’s attempt to flee—reaches a critical point, forcing the characters to confront their own lines between right and wrong.

In a dramatic turn, Raghu admits that he has facilitated a fake passport for Muthukumaraswamy, but his intent was never to let him escape the police. The two men who have stood apart—[Vijay] and [Suriya]—team up with Raghu to prevent an escape that could endanger Sona’s life. The trio track down the van where Sona is being held with Muthukumaraswamy’s wife, Maya and brother-in-law, Kachiram. The plan unfolds as a tense confrontation on the move, with a bomb hidden inside Sona’s hearing device and time ticking away.

As the chase culminates at the airport, [Kanthaswamy], the Chennai Deputy Commissioner of Police, arrives to arrest Muthukumaraswamy, signaling a critical shift toward justice. In a desperate moment, [Suriya] makes contact with Sona and [Vijay] steps in to avert disaster, grabbing hold of Sona before the bomb inside the hearing device explodes. The tension finally eases as Suriya brings Sona home, and the family works to repair the fabric of their relationships. Raghu, Shanthi, and Sona begin to rebuild trust, while [Vijay] and [Suriya], who have endured distance and conflict, reconcile and reaffirm their bond as brothers. The film closes on a note of renewed family ties and shared affection, with Raghu and [Shanthi] embracing once more and Sona at the center of a restored, hopeful future.

In the end, the intertwined fates of a devoted passport officer, two brothers, a loving sister, and a remarkable little girl demonstrate that forgiveness, courage, and steadfast loyalty can pave a path back to harmony. The story, told with a grounded, human perspective, explores how mistakes can threaten a family, but love and accountability can bring people back together, even after the hardest trials. The characters—each drawn with warmth and complexity—find their own resolutions, leaving the audience with a quiet sense of closure and a belief in second chances.