Please come, sir.
Sir, it's all in your hands now.
- Please save my daughter somehow! - Ma'am, please don't…
Please, don't fall at my feet.
Hey! Don't make a scene and alert everyone. Let's get in. Hurry up.
Sir, please come in.
Get out of her body now!
Get out!
Who…
We know that you have brought an exorcist from outside of town.
Why? Is someone in your family possessed by a spirit?
Brother, I beg you. Don't create a problem. Please leave!
Didn't I tell you? It must be their daughter.
Then what are we waiting for? Let's go in!
Hey! Stop there! How dare you come to my house! Get out!
I'm very sure that some ritual is being performed inside.
Brother, why are you causing trouble?
Please remain calm.
Only if you let us complete the ceremony,
we can exorcize the spirit out of the girl's body.
And if you can't do it?
Will you be answerable when she takes another life?
- Now move! Go away! - Go! Leave!
- Please, don't hurt my daughter! - Leave us alone!
She's not here.
- She must have escaped. - Where is she?
The back door is open. She must have gone that way.
Will the false images shown by the heart Break in front of the eyes?
Will time solve this clueless puzzle?
As the depth of eerie silence Echoes all over
Will this wild run after the shadows In the dark, stop?
Will the unresolved legends Unearth the truth
And the apparitions Of the mystery die away?
- We must not let her escape. - Yes, brother.
Don't skip any place.
- Let's search every house. - Yes, brother.
- You both go that way. - Okay, brother.
You come with me.
- Did Thulasi come here? - No, she didn't.
Did Ezhil's daughter Thulasi come here?
No one came here.
- Did Thulasi come here? - No, she didn't.
- Come on! - Let's search the other side.
Sir! Sir! Open the door!
Who is it at this hour?
Let me switch on the lights.
Sir!
Sir! Sir!
They've tied up Thulasi at the Panchayat Center and are beating her up.
- What? - Oh, no!
Here.
- Come, sir. - Let's go.
- Mom! - Please leave my daughter! Don't hurt her!
You both knew what's been happening in this village.
Despite that, you've been hiding her inside your house.
What do we do with her?
- Let us beat the life out of her! - Please don't, sir.
- Let her die! - No! No! Please don't!
This is the only way we can protect ourselves from her!
What the hell are you guys doing?
Please save my daughter, sir!
Untie the girl, now! Untie her!
We've been patient all this while because you told us to.
But not any longer!
This girl has been possessed by the Vanaratchi.
Her own parents believe that.
Because of your foolishness,
your daughter is in big danger now.
Aren't you ashamed?
Look at the poor girl's face.
There is no Vanaratchi inside her body.
She is mentally ill and needs to be taken to the hospital.
Don't you people have any conscience?
Go, untie her. Go!
If anyone tries to harm this girl ever again,
they'd have to go through me!
Disperse from here or else we will call the cops on you.
Come on. Clear this place.
Disperse everyone. Go away.
- Bring her. - Go home, everyone.
Go!
Listen, sir. You are making a grave mistake.
Ratchi is not going to stop.
She won't spare anyone.
This village is going to become a graveyard.
And our blood is in your hands.
Sorry.
Your mother let me in.
What do you want now?
After what happened yesterday…
I'm unable to stop thinking about it.
I wondered why things never worked out between me and my boyfriend.
He is a nice guy and took good care of me.
He treated me well, but…
when I was with him…
I felt nothing.
I brought up a silly issue and broke up with him.
Because…
I…
I could not accept myself.
I have been… fooling myself.
Chithu, all this is completely new to me.
I don't know how to handle this, or what to do.
But whatever happened yesterday,
it keeps running in my mind.
I… I…
I flirted with you.
I gave you mixed signals but…
I reacted as if you made a mistake.
I made you think you were at fault.
I feel like shit. I don't deserve you.
Please forgive me!
Sorry, Chithu.
Chitra, your phone is ringing.
Hey!
Video call?
I am at work.
Anyway, how did the interview go?
Great! So when are you coming back?
Wait a minute.
I miss you.
A selfie?
You brat!
I told you, I cannot say that now.
I will call you tonight. Bye!
So?
Who was on the phone? Your boyfriend?
Did I tell you that I have a boyfriend?
You didn't have to say anything!
Your face showed everything.
Blushing and giggling.
I have never seen you like this!
When you were standing there and talking on the phone,
there were little hearts flying above your head.
Come on, tell me. Who is the guy?
Where does he work?
Hello?
Why are you hiding it from me?
I thought we had no secrets between us.
What… is that him again?
It's the lab. Move!
Yeah, tell me.
Sir, the hair we found in Rathinam's car is not from Mangai's wig.
The lab confirmed that they were not a match.
Moreover, the fake nails, fangs, saree, and horn that we found in Mangai's house,
none of them have any traces of DNA from any of the victims.
How can you arrest Mangai? Did you file a charge sheet?
On what basis did you hold her here for two whole days?
Ma'am, Mangai is the prime suspect in this case.
We have every right to detain her for 48 hours.
Suspect? Do you have any solid evidence?
Are you trying to coerce a confession out of her?
This is an abuse of power!
- I won't be silent about this! - Ma'am.
Please calm down.
There's no coercion happening here.
I know how it is. Look, Inspector!
If you have proof that Mangai is connected to the murders, show it to me.
Or else, release her immediately!
Let Mangai go.
Sir, we are yet to…
Please tell your client that she cannot leave the town without our permission.
- This isn't over yet. - Fine.
Don't worry. They will release her.
If they call Mangai again for questioning, inform me.
Don't be scared about anything. Got it?
Mangai, come let's go to our house.
You don't need to be alone anymore.
Come, dear. Mangai!
Listen to me…
Dear, call her!
Why are you silent? Call her!
Mangai!
Sir.
Bala, Robert, Ekambaram, Rathinam.
What do these four have in common?
They are all men…
between the ages of 35 and 45.
But women were also targeted.
That forest guard Selvi, Sangeetha, and then Kathy.
Fine.
Gender may not be a factor.
But let's focus on the four who were killed.
Other than being male, what are the common factors between them?
These three are from Thaenkaadu.
But Robert was from Delhi.
Right.
Their education, profession, lifestyle, financial status…
are all different.
Sir, they also didn't know each other workwise or personally.
But… this certainly can't be random!
So what else?
Why were these four particular victims killed?
We still don't have a motive!
Behind every murder, there will be an emotion.
It may not be so obvious, but it'll certainly be there.
Revenge, greed, jealousy, lust,
obsession, hatred, honor.
What emotion do you see here?
Anger.
I see anger here.
It looks like a punishment for something.
So let's ask this question.
Why the anger?
What did these four people do to deserve this anger?
All the details we have on the victims are very basic.
This isn't enough!
We should dig deep and analyze their victimology.
Not everyone is who they appear to be on the outside.
So let's find out what mistakes they made,
and what secrets they were hiding from others.
We must find out everything.
The answers to our questions lie there.
Rani!
Again? What did they want this time?
They wanted details of the trips that Brother Bala took.
His routes, his shift timings, who he traveled with,
and all the details of the goods he took in his truck.
The police then asked for all the old files at the office.
When the owner said that termites destroyed them,
they got upset.
And then what?
They asked if we had any copies of the files.
But we couldn't find them there.
So I came here to ask if you have them here at home.
Brother, why would he bring all those back home?
Why don't you just check once?
Maybe he kept them inside an old trunk box in the loft.
Hey! Wouldn't I know what's there and not in our trunk box?
Why are you getting all riled up about this?
Why do you think?
It's been five years since he died.
You guys won't remember all that!
Did your owner spare even one paisa to help out my family?
Now the police are digging up the case again,
making me re-live all the trauma,
and hurt me again and again?
Haven't we suffered enough?
Why are you getting mad at me?
I was just doing what they told me to do.
- Anyway, I'll inform the owner. - Get out of here!
- I scored 73 runs today, Grandpa. - Superb!
- I actually watched you play. - Really?
You played really well.
Going somewhere?
Yeah. I am going to the marketplace.
Mom, I'm hungry.
I already cooked food. Have it.
- Fry some papads if you want. Okay? - Okay, Mom.
- Are you going to the market? - Yes, we are.
- Can I get in? - Sure, get in.
Please move and sit.
When I loaded the goods, it was 300 kilos.
Why have you written only 290 in this?
- I weighed it before writing it down. - How could it be lesser?
You cheat me like this every time.
I'm the one facing all the heat at the office.
Hey, don't blame me. My hands are pure.
Suruli!
This is the vehicle.
Switch off the engine and get down, both of you!
Hey!
Is there a problem, sir?
Did you check this truck?
That's not necessary, sir. They are regulars.
They pass through this road every day.
- What is inside? - Fruits and vegetables, sir.
- Open it. - Why, sir?
- I have the permit for it. - Show it.
Doesn't matter. Open it.
Sir, you are delaying us for no reason.
The owner will get mad at us only!
Like hell, he will. Go open it!
Do you need special instructions? Go!
Sir, this box has stag horns.
There are two boxes full of pangolins here, sir!
So, you're the one receiving bribes all along and doing this shameful job.
Sir, I swear! I had no part in this at all.
They always carried their documents and…
Stop lying!
As soon as this gets reported in the office, you will be suspended.
And once the inquiry is done,
you will also be behind bars along with them.
Get lost!
Brother. Come here, please.
Kumar, take him to the station.
- Get going. - I will deal with him there.
The goods have been transferred to our truck.
So, shall we send them to our warehouse?
No, brother.
Not there.
There's a change in plans.
You carry on. I'll deal with this.
Going alone?
I'm coming with you.
- Thanks for the tip, Ayyanar. - Welcome, sir.
We have arrested him and confiscated the goods.
- Okay. - Did you question him?
We tried questioning him several times.
But he is tight-lipped.
What to do? These guys are just pawns.
There are many powerful people in this poaching ring.
He is afraid to name them.
With your permission, I'd like to question him.
Sure.
- Nalini. - Sir?
Tell me, sir.
- Take them both to Suruli. - Okay, sir.
Thank you!
Open it.
How do you know Bala's wife?
We know that you both met today secretly at the marketplace.
What did you talk about?
Is she also involved in poaching activities with you?
No, sir. Poor woman.
She has nothing to do with this.
Was Bala involved?
Long before I joined,
Bala used to transport elephant tusks and tiger skins for many years.
All of a sudden, he decided to quit.
But… they didn't like it.
They threatened to kill his wife and son.
Bala threatened them back saying that he'd go to the police.
A few days later, the accident happened.
Poor Rani.
She was worried that if the villagers knew
that Bala was working for a poaching gang,
it would affect her son's life.
That's why she hid this from the cops.
Here's the theory.
Poachers killed Bala and made it look like Vanaratchi did it.
In order to conceal her husband's involvement with the poachers,
Bala's wife played along with the Vanaratchi story.
Bala wanted to quit the business.
He threatened to go to the police if they coerced him.
So the poachers had a motive to kill him.
See, these poachers are an organized and skilled group.
They have the necessity to go in and out of the forest often.
This exactly matches our criminal profile.
Remember what happened to that forest guard Selvi?
The area where the poachers laid animal traps,
that's exactly where she saw the Vanaratchi.
So, not only the villagers,
they also scared the police with the same story.
That also explains why they attacked Kathy.
If people are afraid to come into the forest,
the poachers can freely conduct their business without any hassles.
It all makes perfect sense.
All that is fine,
but what's their motive to kill the other three victims?
Why would they kill Robert?
He came from Delhi to take photos.
Maybe Robert secretly took photos of poaching activities in the forest.
Maybe he was blackmailing them for money.
That's just ridiculous!
Robert was already a filthy rich guy.
Wildlife photography was his hobby.
You think he was blackmailing poachers for money?
- Hey-- - Even if that was true,
we didn't find any such photos or videos on his camera or laptop.
Maybe he deleted them!
I'll check if I can retrieve them.
Fine. What about contractor Ekambaram?
Ekambaram might have helped the poachers to transport the goods.
He had a lot of trucks and permits to go in and out of the forest.
No one would have bothered to even check his vehicles.
This is a big network.
Rathinam might be involved in this too…
as a trader or as an agent.
Are you saying that they killed their own partner?
Why not? Don't partners fight amongst themselves?
- Maybe they had a problem. - No!
There are still many unexplainable things in this case.
Whenever Vanaratchi appears, an odd howling sound is heard, right?
They analyzed the audio and reported that it was just an animal's howling.
But even the wildlife experts were unable to identify the animal!
- Actually-- - Can you explain why the
sniffer dogs freaked out?
I don't know! Maybe the poachers blew a dog whistle.
- We wouldn't have heard that. - You are just wildly guessing everything!
Why are you pouncing on me?
At least I'm trying to find a logical explanation for all this.
Unlike you, who believes that the Vanaratchi killed these people.
Hi!
I…
I just came to see how you were doing.
I am fine, sir.
Thank you.
Going back to work already?
Just taking the day shift for now.
Good.
There was some sound coming from your room. What was it?
What sound?
I heard an odd "tup-tup" sound on the walls.
Oh! You could hear that?
It was this.
I was bouncing this off the wall and catching it.
It's an exercise for the eye
and a training for the brain…
to judge the distance and depth of perception.
So, you'll be going to the station, right?
I need the list of offenders involved in…
any poaching activities in the last five years.
Could you bring it for me?
It's required for our case.
Okay, sir.
Thank you.
Wait.
Here, take your food before you leave.
Here. Take it.
What?
Why have you packed so much?
Are you trying to kill me with food?
You say this now.
But when you come back home from your night shift at 3:00 a.m.,
you'll go into the kitchen and scratch the vessels searching for food like a cat.
I know very well about you!
- Okay, see you. - Take care.
Oh God! Wait, wait!
What?
Here…
Turn around…
I totally forgot about it. Show me your hand.
What are you doing?
It is the holy talisman.
Let me tie it.
You should never ever remove it.
Okay?
This will protect you from all dangers.
Let it stay put. Do not remove it.
Alright. You go inside, lock the door, and sleep.
Go safely!
Eat on time.
The road construction work is starting tomorrow.
They might steal the sand around the area.
So send some of our officers to supervise.
Okay, sir. I will send them by 9 o'clock.
- Send them by seven itself. - Okay, sir.
- Brother! - Irfan brother?
- Can you hear me? - Brother?
- Come fast… Kani… - Where to?
- Near mud ro-- - Brother?
- Near Kaniyaani mud road. - Irfan brother?
- Come soon! Hurry! - Irfan brother?
Brother!
- Nalini, come. - Sir!
Raja, get the vehicle.
Irfan sir, can you hear us?
Sir, can you hear us?
Look! His bike.
- Nalini, inform the station. - Okay, sir.
Let's split and search.
- Okay, sir. - Okay?
Get going.
Irfan brother?
Irfan brother!
Punitha! Raja!
Did you find him yet?
We are still searching, sir.
Irfan brother! Irfa--
Irfan brother!
Brother?
Brother…
Don't try to talk now…
Don't talk. Lie down.