Vettaiyan 2024

Athiyan, a Superintendent of Police in the Kanyakumari district, is a renowned encounter specialist known as “Vettaiyan” for taking down criminals with the help of his team and “Battery” Patrick, a Horlicks-loving former thief-turned-police informer who is also a tech genius. Athiyan receives a complaint from Saranya, a middle-school teacher, from Pechipaarai about marijuana being stored in classrooms, leading to student drug abuse and disrupted classes. Following the tip, Athiyan and his team arrest Kumaresan, the man behind the drug production, and kill him in an encounter, earning public approval but drawing the scrutiny of the human rights commission. Justice Sathyadev visits the encounter case hearing for observation while the court rules the encounter justified. Saranya gets closer to Athiyan’s family and is soon transferred to Chennai.

Saranya is brutally raped and murdered on the terrace of her new school, with her body discovered in the water tank. SP Harish Kumar and ASP Roopa Kiran lead the investigation, uncovering Guna, a software engineer and sibling of Saranya’s school student Chitra, as the perpetrator. Teachers protest statewide, demanding Guna’s arrest and justice for Saranya. Guna escapes custody from the hospital, prompting authorities to deploy Athiyan, and is eventually tracked down and killed by Athiyan in an encounter at sea. While the public praises this, Justice Sathyadev reveals that Guna was in Hyderabad during the crime, proving his innocence. Devastated by his mistake, Athiyan reopens the case with Patrick, Roopa, and Harish, uncovering gaps in the original investigation.

Their efforts lead them to Hanu Reddy, a contract killer hired to murder Saranya. However, Hanu is killed before they can discover who hired him. With Patrick’s technical expertise, the team uncovers Harish’s corruption; he had tipped off Hanu about the police’s pursuit. Investigations with Swetha, a Nat Academy employee, revealed their Chairman Natraj Shanmugam’s scam of luring parents and students with promises of 100% pass rates in competitive exams through online courses. Many families took loans to join, but Nat Academy refused refunds when they discontinued or could not pay, and those who complained faced threats and violence. To hide the scam, Natraj partnered with the Government under the “Smart Student Scheme” to provide free entrance exam coaching classes to government schools to deceive people by disparaging the standards of government schools by bribing social media influencers. Saranya and Guna, whose sister was also a subscriber to Nat Academy’s online course, had uncovered evidence of the scam before Saranya’s tragic demise.

Athiyan attempts to arrest Natraj but is transferred to the Economic Offences Wing in retaliation. Subsequently, Athiyan collaborates with DSP Nazeema to investigate Natraj under the provisions of the BUDS Act, 2019. To gather evidence, Athiyan with the assistance of his wife, Thara, a social media influencer collects complaints from parents across the state who claimed to have been defrauded by Nat Academy’s online courses. Natraj sends goons simultaneously to intimidate Athiyan, Thara, and Roopa, but these attempts are unsuccessful. Athiyan learns that a hard drive had already been sent by Saranya and upon recovering finds proof of Natraj’s scams, but Natraj’s henchmen kill Patrick during the investigation. Swetha bribes the public prosecutor, allowing Natraj to evade a court case.

Athiyan, lacking concrete evidence linking Natraj to Saranya’s murder, with his nephew’s help, shares Saranya’s final video, revealing Natraj’s purported scam and attempted murder, on social media. Then, he convenes a press meeting to share findings regarding Natraj’s scam, exposes Harish’s role in falsely implicating Guna, and declares Guna’s innocence. The government annulls all MoUs with Nat Academy, leading to its ban. During transportation from Puzhal prison to the court, Natraj escapes custody, taking Roopa hostage. Athiyan confronts Natraj, and subdues him and his henchmen, securing Natraj’s arrest.

Six months later, Natraj is sentenced to life in prison, and Athiyan steps back from his encounter-driven methods, choosing to let justice take its course.