Por Thozhil 2023

Set in 2010, DSP Prakash Ashok Selvan is a newly appointed trainee who is paired with SP Loganathan R. Sarathkumar by ADGP Mahendran. The arrangement comes with reservations on Loganathan’s side, but he agrees to mentor the young officer along with Veena Nikhila Vimal, a fresh technical assistant. The trio leaves Chennai for Tiruchirappalli to investigate the grisly murder of a young woman found in a remote wooded area. The forensic details paint a chilling pattern: the victim was strangled from the front with an iron wire, kneeling, hair pulled back and tied to a hand, and a neck hematoma suggests she was knocked at specific pressure points to render her unconscious before being kidnapped. This meticulous MO signals a killer who is calculating and, more troubling, capable of repeating the act.

As predicted, more young women vanish in the same manner, and their bodies are dumped in the woods. The victims share only their age range (early to mid-twenties) and the way they were killed, with no obvious links tying them together. The investigators conclude they are dealing with a psychopath who harbors an inferiority complex and uses his victims to assert control, forcing their eyes to meet his gaze in the act. The team pieces together that these are copycat killings echoing a spate of murders that occurred between 1973 and 1979, a clue that deepens the mystery and expands the historical backdrop of the case.

To untangle the web, Loganathan infiltrates the past by visiting the house of Inspector John Sebastian Santhosh Keezhattoor under the cover of familiarity, while Prakash splits the work to the district library, searching for clues about pressure points—the only sort of knowledge that might connect the 1970s era to the present crime spree. Loganathan is confronted by John Sebastian’s son Kennedy Sarath Babu, who explains that his father is long dead, that he has a son Freddy in New Delhi, and that his wife has recently died. Kennedy’s meticulous, almost compulsive approach to order and cleanliness raises suspicion in Loganathan and Prakash, who begin to suspect that Kennedy might be involved in the pattern of killings.

Prakash ultimately informs Loganathan that Kennedy bears the name of the killer, based on a reader’s list from a book called Vital Points. The detectives set up surveillance in a nearby rental property to monitor Kennedy incognito, but they fail to find conclusive evidence that ties him to the recent murders. Meanwhile, a suspect arrested by a rival police force confesses to the killings and then commits suicide the next day; the crowd believes the case is closed, but the investigators refuse to be swayed and press on, convinced that Kennedy still hides the truth.

One night, a serendipitous turn of events brings Kennedy into sharper focus when Prakash trails him to a supermarket. Kennedy invites Prakash to his home for dinner, but Prakash slips into a locked room and uncovers a photograph tucked behind a wall frame—a clue that intensifies the tension. In a tense confrontation, Kennedy strikes Prakash with a pressure-point blow to the neck. Loganathan arrives just in time, guns Kennedy down, and Prakash is rescued. Kennedy, who admits to a childhood murder connected to an abusive father, confesses that his father’s cruelty drove him to commit acts of violence to stay one step ahead and to protect himself from the cycles of punishment and fear. He also confesses a rare, deep aversion to his victims’ faces and asserts that his past crimes would remain hidden if not for this moment of exposure.

Yet Prakash senses a crucial discrepancy: Kennedy doesn’t fit the contemporary killer’s profile. He recalls that months earlier he was abducted and blindfolded by a faceless assailant who claimed a long acquaintance with him, even mentioning pressure-point knowledge from the 1970s and hinting at a peculiar car alarm—an alarm that resembled the firing sound of a toy rifle. The investigation pivots away from Kennedy and leans toward another suspect who has been lurking in the shadows.

That shift leads the duo to a revelation tied to Muthu Selvan [Sunil Sukhada], a robust NGO worker whose car’s reverse-gear alarm matches the sound described by Prakash. A mechanic confirms the alarm and points to Muthu Selvan’s address, and a search of his home reveals a disturbing pattern: his victims are women with dimples, a vulnerability he exploits in the most brutal way. The trail broadens to a nearby café where Muthu Selvan has been a frequent patron; he always sits near a glass window and fixates on a poster of a singer at the entrance of the adjacent hotel, underscoring a meticulous routine that aligns with the copycat killer’s behavior.

Loganathan and Prakash act quickly. They discover Veena Nikhila Vimal is the next target, given her own dimpling, and a careful hotel-room stakeout confirms their deduction. Veena encounters Muthu Selvan in the hotel corridor as he pretends to choke and begs her to fetch medicine from his car. When Veena nears the car, Prakash warns her to be cautious, and the moment she senses danger, Muthu Salvan appears, dragging her away.

The chase heats up as a flock of birds suddenly takes flight, signaling danger and guiding the investigators to Veena’s location. In the ensuing struggle, Muthu Selvan stabs Loganathan in the back, rendering him momentarily immobile. He then aims at Prakash, but a gun malfunction saves Prakash. He wrests the weapon, uncorks the jam, and shoots Muthu Selvan in the eye, ending the immediate threat.

In the aftermath, Prakash shows a gentler, more reflective side: he gifts his music player to a neighborhood boy whose parents fight constantly. When the boy’s mother embraces her child, Loganathan watches and asks what advice Prakash gave the parents. Prakash’s answer is simple but powerful: tell the truth, behave responsibly, and ensure the child can grow up with a hopeful future.

The case finally collides with the human cost behind violence—an exploration of abuse, obsession, and the dark mechanics of copycat murder. While the investigation ties past traumas to present crimes, it also emphasizes the enduring impact on families and communities. The film closes on a note of quiet resilience, with Prakash and Loganathan committed to protecting the vulnerable and guiding younger generations toward a safer, more responsible future.