In 1996, in a high-level security meeting discusses the security threats to the 1996 Cricket World Cup in India from Daya and his brother, Yethi.
The police capture Yethi's henchman to interrogate him. They learn Yethi was going to see Muruga, a politician-cum-smuggler. Learning that Muruga is dead, they go undercover as smugglers. They approach DSP Tulasi who tells them to visit the Red Sea villages in the Ratnagiri mountains. They visit Bhaira, chief of one such village and threaten him to smuggle goods, only to be violently rejected by him. They find Singappa, who takes them offshore in a boat. The officer tries to make an offer to him by showing off a diamond ring which is abruptly thrown into the sea by Singappa. As the officer dives to retrieve the ring, he finds skeletons in the seabed. Singappa starts narrating the story which begins 12 years earlier.
Inhabitants of the villages were once warriors defending the seas, but after India got its Independence, they lose relevance, reduced to smugglers in the infamous Red Sea. Devara is a chieftain of one of the villages and part of the group which smuggles for Muruga from the merchant ships, along with Bhaira. Unbeknownst to them, they smuggle illegal arms which are used in robberies, and one such incident occurs near their villages. During a smuggling expedition, they are caught by the coast guard and the commander of the vessel, Irfan, reveals the items they were smuggling and how he expected honor amongst the descendants of warriors.
Devara has a change of heart and decides to stop their smuggling operations, which is not liked by the other chieftains, including Bhaira. They hatch plans to kill him but fail. Devara successfully stops the villagers from entering the seas for smuggling. He disappears after an attempt to kill him and writes a message on a rock near the shore that he would continue to kill those who venture out for smuggling. Years pass, and everyone adopts fishing as their livelihood as Devara killed those smuggling, while remaining invisible to the villagers. His son, Vara, grows up to be timid and soft-spoken, unlike his father, and believes Devara abandoned his family.
Vara's childhood friend Thangam is in love with him, but wishes he was more like Devara. On the other hand, Bhaira prepares a private army to kill Devara. Tulasi and Muruga again offer an opportunity to Bhaira to smuggle for them along with killing Devara, the biggest thorn for their operations. When Bhaira's men harass Devara's daughter and wife, Vara is furious and beats them up, showing his strength. He's accused of killing one of the men, but Vara pleads to Bhaira that he's not responsible. Bhaira tells him to prove it by joining their smuggling operation. Bhaira later reveals he killed his own man to get Vara to join them.
Vara joins them for a smuggling operation to kill Devara. When Devara's wife asks Singappa to stop Vara, Singappa reveals that Devara is long dead and it was Vara who, masquerading as Devara, killed the smugglers from the day Devara disappeared. He wrote the note on the rock and pretends to be timid so that everyone would think that Devara is still alive. Meanwhile, Vara kills Bhaira's men and brings their bodies back to the shore. To instill even more fear in the villagers, Vara also marks himself, in front of Singappa and Devara's loyal aides, as he "went against his father".
When asked by the undercover police officer about Devara's killer, Singappa reveals that he was killed by Vara on the day Bhaira's men tried to kill him.
