Sivaji: The Boss 2007

Sivaji Arumugam is a wealthy Indian software engineer who returns to India after working in the United States. He dreams of establishing a non-profit trust, the Sivaji Foundation, a nationwide network of hospitals and educational institutions that serve the poor free of charge. A powerful businessman and political lobbyist, Adiseshan, who runs profit-driven educational institutions and hospitals, sees Sivaji as a dangerous challenger to his empire and plans to halt his progress.

To get the foundation off the ground, Sivaji Arumugam is forced to navigate heavy red tape and bribes, mortgaging his property and selling his belongings to secure the necessary approvals. Amid this strain, he falls for Tamizhselvi Ramalingham, a demure and traditional saleswoman at a music shop. Tamizhselvi and her family are initially wary of his advances, but Sivaji gradually wins their trust and gains their blessing. A fortune-teller’s warning, based on the couple’s horoscopes, predicts financial ruin and Sivaji’s death, casting a shadow over their engagement. Tamizhselvi hesitates at first, but Sivaji’s steadfastness eventually wins her hand in marriage.

The stakes rise when Adiseshan manipulates the state government to drag Sivaji into court and force him to admit he paid bribes. The judge’s ruling collapses Sivaji’s foundation, plunging him into poverty. Refusing to bow out, Sivaji joins forces with his uncle to fight back. With the help of Arivu, Sivaji uncovers evidence of ₹2 billion in illicit earnings tied to Adiseshan and uses it to blackmail him into sharing half the money. Adiseshan retaliates by sending goons to retrieve the documents and cash, but Sivaji defeats them and mirrors the tactic against other corrupt officials. He channels the illicit funds to his friends around the world, who then donate them to the Sivaji Foundation, giving the operation a veneer of legitimacy. Sivaji also alerts the Income Tax Department about the illicit funds, leading to arrests of multiple tax evaders, including Adiseshan.

Sivaji marries Tamizhselvi, and he continues to push back against corruption. He leverages his position to reopen the foundation legally by applying pressure on the chief minister, who has been on Adiseshan’s payroll. Meanwhile, Adiseshan uses CBI officers to exploit Tamizhselvi’s innocence, prompting her to hand over Sivaji’s laptop to save his life. Sivaji is arrested again; Adiseshan and the police attempt to unlock the laptop with voice recognition, but Sivaji refuses and endures torture to the brink of death. To stage a cover-up, Adiseshan and the police hire mercenaries to shoot the van carrying Sivaji’s body, making it look like a third-party murder. A sympathetic police constable sends an MMS revealing the plan, and Sivaji learns of it in time to fake his death. With help from Dr. Dr. Chezhian—a trusted friend and the dean of Sivaji’s medical school—along with Tamizhselvi and Arivu, Sivaji’s body is replaced with a dummy before the mercenaries strike, and Chezhian revives him using a defibrillator.

The authorities attempt to recover the data on Sivaji’s laptop, but a deliberate erasure leaves them with nothing. A few days later, the revived Sivaji returns in disguise as an NRI friend. The disguise holds for a time, but Adiseshan suspects the truth yet cannot prove it. In the climactic finale, Sivaji reveals the mountain of black money on the campus, triggering a stampede that leads to Adiseshan’s death. The Sivaji Foundation rises as a symbol of India’s economic and industrial ascent, and Sivaji’s mission to uplift the underprivileged takes on a new, formidable reality.