Thee

Thee

Year: 1981

Runtime: More mins

Language: Tamil

Director: R Krishnamurthy

DramaAction

Raja and Suman, two sons of a labour leader, choose different professions in their life after facing numerous difficulties from childhood to adulthood.

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Thee (1981) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Read the complete plot breakdown of Thee (1981), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.

The film opens with the story of a strong-willed trade unionist who dedicates himself to improving the lives of struggling laborers. He lives in a modest home with his wife, Seetha Manorama, and their two young sons, Raja Rajinikanth and Ravi Suman Talwar. A corrupt businessman relentlessly blackmails him, threatening to kill his family unless he stops his union activities. Cornered and coerced, the unionist capitulates, and the very workers who once supported him turn against him, attacking him and undermining his authority. The fear and violence spill over onto Seetha and the children, and a brutal moment brands young Raja with the words, “My Father Is A Thief.” The frightened father is forced to flee, leaving Seetha and the boys to face a life of precarious poverty. With little choice, Seetha takes them to Madras, where she scrapes by as a day laborer to feed and shelter her now-homeless children.

Raja grows up with a hard-edged awareness of his father’s fall from grace and the stigma that accompanies it. He begins life on the bottom rung, polishing boots and later working in the docks, before slipping into the underworld as a smuggler and rising to become a formidable figure. Throughout this ascent, he makes a pointed sacrifice: his own education, so that his younger brother Ravi can pursue studies and a better future. Ravi, by contrast, becomes an upright student and is drawn to the law—he falls for Radha Sowcar Janaki, the daughter of the Commissioner of Police. On the Commissioner’s suggestion, Ravi sets his sights on a police career and is eventually accepted into training, rising to the rank of Sub-Inspector.

Meanwhile, Raja’s life takes a dramatic turn as he amasses wealth and status, transitioning from crime to a glossy, powerful business persona and moving into a palatial home. The gap between the brothers widens when Ravi is tasked with rounding up Madras’ hardcore criminals, a list that unfortunately includes Raja himself. The revelation shocks Ravi, who never imagined his own brother as one of the city’s most dangerous figures. Tensions escalate as Ravi struggles with a choice: arrest his brother or let him continue down a life of crime.

When tragedy strikes—the brutal murder of Anita Sripriya, whom Raja has taken as his partner and who bears his child—the balance of power shifts irreversibly. Enraged and grief-stricken, Raja retaliates by wiping out his rivals in a torrent of violence, a spree that brands him forever as a criminal in the eyes of the law and society. Their mother, who had stood by Ravi and rejected Raja’s path, is tormented by the widening rift between the brothers and the moral consequences of Raja’s choices.

The film builds to a climactic confrontation between the siblings. In a tense final showdown, Ravi shoots and kills Raja, bringing the feud to a gruesome close. Raja dies in the comforting embrace of their mother, seeking forgiveness even as the law and duty prevail. The ending crowns Ravi for his steadfast pursuit of justice, leaving Seetha and their family to reckon with the costs of ambition, loyalty, and forgiveness. The narrative offers a nuanced portrait of family, duty, and the blurred line between right and wrong, as two brothers walk starkly different paths in a city that tests every moral boundary.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:43

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Brother vs Brother crime dramas like Thee

Stories where familial bonds are shattered by destiny and opposing paths.If you liked the tragic conflict between Raja and Suman in Thee, explore more movies about sibling rivalry and betrayal. These films feature brothers torn apart by crime, duty, or a dark past, leading to tense, emotionally heavy stories with often heartbreaking conclusions.

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Narrative Summary

These narratives typically follow a life-long arc, starting from a shared, often difficult childhood that sets the stage for a future fracture. The story meticulously charts the divergent paths of the siblings, building towards an unavoidable and violent climax that sacrifices family for a greater, tragic cause.

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Movies are grouped here based on their core conflict between siblings, the heavy emotional weight of familial love corrupted by external forces, and the dark, steady pacing that leads to a tragic, morally complex ending.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern is a generational chronicle, depicting the rise and often brutal fall of a family within a criminal underworld. It explores themes of loyalty, betrayal, and the struggle between personal desires and familial obligations, usually culminating in a bleak realization of the costs of a life of crime.

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Don't stop at just watching — explore Thee in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Thee is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Thee

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Thee

Thee Spoiler-Free Summary

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More About Thee

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