Next Nuvve

Kiran, a TV serial director, is drowning in debt after his project is shelved. He and his girlfriend Smita receive a letter from his late father about a dilapidated ancestral palace in Araku Valley. They decide to convert it into a resort to clear their debts, and to fund the venture he cons JP's son and flees to Araku with Smita, with Sharath and his bombshell sister Rashmi joining the scheme.

The couple reach Araku and begin planning the resort transformation. They recruit Sharath and Rashmi to assist in converting the palace into a profitable venture. The group proceeds with the scheme as they settle into their new base of operations.

From the first day, guests start arriving at the newly branded resort inside the palace. The crowd includes a couple named Anandam and Sadanandam, a Chinese couple and their relatives, a drillmaster, and a bodybuilder. The place begins to buzz with activity despite the ominous mood surrounding it.

Within a single night, the guests mysteriously die in the palace. Ground is broken as the workers dig graves and cover them, suggesting something unseen has claimed the visitors. Suspicion grows about the fate of the resort and its residents.

A local digger alerts the police after noticing repeated digging around the grounds, hinting at hidden treasure. The authorities inspect the resort’s records and realize the deceased guests were former owners who died in a similar manner years earlier after registering the palace in their names.

Kiran informs the police that the guests had already died years before, a fact they confirm by checking the registry. The police begin to suspect something supernatural at the site, grilling questions about ownership and the strange deaths.

An old man (L. B. Sriram) tells them the palace is haunted by a devil named Himaja, which he claims he unintentionally released. He warns that it will kill anyone who buys the palace and hints that Kiran himself could be next.

They seek help from RGV, an alleged exorcist, who turns out to be a cheat. The devil proves stronger, beating the exorcist and exposing the impotence of their on-site defense against the supernatural.

On the day of the full moon (Ammavasya), the devil gains new powers and possesses Smita, Sharath, and Rashmi to target Kiran. The trio becomes puppets of the haunting, increasing the peril surrounding the group.

During the chaos, JP and his son, along with their gang, break into the palace and press Kiran to transfer ownership to JP. Kiran resists, but the possession and pressure complicate his defenses and decisions.

As Kiran and his group exit the palace, the ghosts of the former owners begin returning and entering the building. JP and his gang join them, implying they have been claimed by the spectral occupants.

Kiran and his allies lament the night’s events and decide to leave the palace behind. The story closes with the sense that the haunting endures and the danger remains tied to the cursed place.