Athiran

In 1967, Lakshmi arrives home to find Nithya dissociated, playing with a thread while the rest of the family lies dead. The scene implies a fractured grasp on reality, and Nithya’s glance at her aunt leads her to believe Lakshmi is the killer. This moment seeds the mystery surrounding Nithya's true fate.

Five years after the tragedy, Dr. Kannan Nair travels to a remote, eerie asylum to evaluate its practices. He meets Renuka, the caretaker, and Dr. Benjamin, the chief doctor and owner, along with a handful of resident patients. Nair immediately questions the ethics and competence of the clinic's methods.

During his tour, Nair learns that only five patients are listed, yet a sixth exists: Nithya, kept in a hidden cell. He confronts Benjamin about her confinement and the treatment she receives. Benjamin insists Nithya is dangerous and claims she is his daughter.

Nair visits Nithya in her cell despite guards’ warnings, and she responds with a ghoulish, frightening aggression. He is knocked unconscious and wakes hours later in his own room. The encounter confirms that Nithya is a volatile figure within the asylum.

While exploring, Nair discovers a tunnel that ends with Lakshmi locked in a hidden cell. Lakshmi pleads for Nithya to be rescued from the place. Emerging back into the corridors, he seeks to understand the facility’s true nature while avoiding the patrolling guard.

Back in Benjamin's study, Nair finds a diary that reveals Nithya's true lineage: she is Varma's daughter, not Benjamin's. Varma, a Nadakkal royal, loved his daughter and taught her kalari. Lakshmi had brought Nithya to Benjamin after the family murders, hoping for her care.

The next day, Nair reintegrates Nithya with the other patients, challenging Benjamin's claim that autism necessitates confinement. Benjamin pushes back, but the confrontation shifts the hospital's balance of power. The staff grow increasingly unsettled by Nithya's presence.

Nair reads the diary to Nithya, prompting recall of her father, Lakshmi, and cousin Vinayan. He learns Benjamin erased Nithya’s memories, and vows to help restore them. The memory return tightens the stakes and intensifies the hostility around Nithya.

Nair suspects Benjamin intends to harm Nithya as her memories resurface. He attempts to flee with medical documents, but is chased by guard dogs and a watchful staff, who mistake him for an intruder. The pursuit deepens the sense that Benjamin is orchestrating more than medical mistreatment.

Nair and Nithya flee the facility after a violent clash that injures Benjamin. They are aided by the loyal patients who care for Nithya, and they escape toward a horizon free from the clinic’s control. The confrontation marks a turning point toward potential justice for Nithya.

A man arrives at the hospital claiming to be Dr. Nair, but the real Nair reveals him as Vinayan, Nithya’s cousin and a patient with schizophrenia. The impersonation exposes the fragility of the asylum’s authority and Vinayan’s unstable grip on reality. The staff struggle to verify identity under mounting paranoia.

The real Dr. Nair explains Vinayan’s past, including how he was shaped by Varma’s world and trained amid the family chaos. Vinayan is revealed to have committed multiple murders, with Lakshmi dying years earlier. The cousins’ bond, once sealed by Varma, now underpins Vinayan’s dangerous fixation on Nithya.

The real Dr. Nair vows to hunt Vinayan wherever he hides, signaling ongoing pursuit and accountability. In the final image, Vinayan and Nithya live together in a beautiful hillside home, at peace away from the world’s reach. The conclusion pairs a justice-seeking clinician with a liberated couple seeking stability.