Jigarthanda

Karthik enters a talent show to pitch his first feature. The judges include a highbrow film director who ridicules his attempt, while Sundar, a profit-minded producer, seems impressed with the potential. Karthik is eliminated from the contest, setting the stage for a new path.

The day after the semifinal, Sundar approaches Karthik with an offer to produce a film. He believes in Karthik's talent despite the rejection, giving him a new route to pursue. This encounter plants the seed for the gangster-film plan.

Discarding his initial concept, Karthik travels to Madurai and decides to document the life of Assault Sethu as the subject of his screenplay. Sundar remains cautiously optimistic but ultimately lets Karthik pursue the project. Karthik commits to a documentary-style approach, aiming to reveal the real world behind the man.

Karthik teams up with his college friend Oorani to conduct surveillance on Sethu and his gang in Madurai. They observe routines, networks, and opportunities that could translate into compelling cinema. Their risk increases as they get deeper into the gangster world.

To get closer to Sethu, Karthik stages a pretense of reciprocated affection with Kayalvizhi, whose mother works for Sethu. Sethu's right-hand man Rasu grows wary and assigns Sounder to monitor their movements. The ruse provides Karthik with access while sowing jealousy and tension.

Karthik plants a wireless microphone in a music player and lends it to Sounder. Sounder is exposed as a mole for an opposing gang and is killed. Sethu discovers the microphone and locates Karthik and Oorani, marking a turning point in their dangerous project.

Sethu confronts Karthik and Oorani, learning of Karthik's plan to make a film about him. Rather than branded as an enemy, Sethu is intrigued by the prospect and invites them into his gang, beginning an uneasy collaboration. Karthik's documentary aims become entwined with Sethu's world.

Sethu and his gang drag Karthik along on their criminal activities as he documents everything. When their operation goes awry, they kidnap Sundar and force both men to finish the film. The film project becomes a weapon and a shield for all involved.

Karthik wrestles with directing under coercion, even as he brings in an acting coach named Muthu to coax performances from Sethu and his men. Despite the coercion and chaos, the production continues and A. Kumar is wrapped, signaling completion of principal work. The crew's improvisations slowly shape the final cut.

At the first showing, Sethu is shocked to see that Karthik has rewritten the film into a comedy. The screening uses editing and dubbing to paint Sethu as a man who achieves everything by crying, a twist that undercuts the gangster image. The audience laughs, and Sethu's plans begin to unravel.

The crowd's laughter makes Sethu realize that fear does not equal respect. He sees that making people laugh gives him real influence, including a long-severed reconciliation with his mother. This moment marks a shift from intimidation to earned respect.

Karthik and Sethu cross paths while Karthik carries recordings of Sethu's confessions intended for the police. Sethu forgives Karthik, and Karthik resolves to let Sethu pursue a new life away from crime. Their uneasy truce ends the immediate conflict as both retreat.

Years later, Karthik is an established director who uses Sethu's gang to bully Vijay Sethupathi for acting in his film, while Kayalvizhi, now his wife, remains a fan. Sethu has become a full-time actor, married Soundar's wife Ganga, and dotes on her daughter. The world he built as a gangster has given way to a different life in cinema and family.