Vasu (Ajith) is a ruthless rowdy who lives in a cinema theater owned by Vinu Chakravarthy. He had a tortured childhood and wastes his days by drinking, fighting, and sleeping. It all starts when Vasu’s friend Dhamu loses an Annamalai movie reel to Mohana (Shalini). Vasu and Mohana clash when he attempts to retrieve the reel. Mohana’s family are members of the police, headed by Birla Bose (Nasser), Mohana’s father. At this point, Tulasi Das (Raghuvaran), an ex-mafia “dada” who spent many years in jail because of Bose, comes to the theater. He does not like Bose and hires Vasu to kidnap Mohana. He cries out his woes in the song “Satham Illatha.” Mohana falls in love with him after hearing his pain. When Tulasi realizes Mohana loves Vasu, he hires Vasu to pretend he loves her back. At first it is just pretend, but then he too begins to love her. Tulasi visits Bose to inform him of his daughter’s love for a gangster and realizes Mohana is indeed his daughter. A flashback showing the parted friendship between the two men, and Ganga (Raadhika), Tulasi’s wife, abandons him and their child when she comes to know her husband is a don. Knowing Mohana is his daughter, Tulasi instructs Vasu to give up his love. When Vasu refuses, Tulasi visits Mohana and tells her about his ploy and that Vasu’s love for her was fake. Eventually, Vasu proves to Mohana his love was true and unites with her after a clash between the cops and some goons of the locality.

Raghuram and Suriya are siblings. Being the youngest child in the family, Suriya is pampered by everyone. Feeling rejected and ignored, Raghuram decides to ruin Suriya’s life.

Amar is assigned to investigate a case of serial killings. When Amar investigates the case, he realizes it is not what it seems to be and following down this path will lead to nothing but war between everyone involved.

Aarumugam (Suriya) is a thug and dealmaker with a band of boys handpicked from the slums of Chennai. Aaru’s mentor Vishwanathan (Ashish Vidyarthi) protects him because Aaru gives him the violent undercover he needs. When Vishwanathan declares war on his bitter rival Reddy (Jaya Prakash Reddy), Aaru assists him. But Vishwanathan betrays him, resulting in Aaru’s subordinates’ deaths. Aaru realizes Vishwanathan’s true, evil nature and vows to destroy his power. There is also a subplot involving Aaru’s romance with the college student Mahalakshmi (Trisha).

Sakthi (played by Sandeep) is the only son of Sharath Babu and Bhanupriya. Having tired of urban living, the elderly couple takes up residence in a village along with their son. Viswanathan (Madhu) is the head of the village. He is highly respected for his fairness and for his love and compassion for the poor. His granddaughter (played by Roopa) is a village belle. She catches Sakthi’s attention as she flits around the village like a butterfly. The two are drawn towards each other and eventually fall in love. Their affair has the tacit blessings of Viswanathan. But it is not going to be a bed of roses for the two as trouble brews up in the person of Sakthi’s ex-flame, city-bred glamour girl played by Shubha Punja.

Ashwin Kumar (Jiiva) is a photojournalist working for the private newspaper Dina Anjal. He witnesses Naxalites robbing a local bank. He chases them and manages to click photos of the robbers. When he tries to escape, he is stopped by a young woman Renuka ‘Renu’ (Karthika Nair) who assumes he is the culprit and helps the robbers to take his camera. However, he is able to secure the memory card of the camera. The police catch him, and to prove that he is a press photographer, he shows the photos to them, who identify everyone except the gang leader (whose face is covered by a mask). At his office, he again meets Renuka, who has newly joined as Article Editor. Saraswathi ‘Saro’ (Piaa Bajpai) also works in his office and has feelings for Ashwin, who does not reciprocate.

The film opens with the ageing gangster, Singaperumal, forcing himself on a young girl, Subbu. He is unable to perform, and vents his anger by slapping the helpless Subbu. Singaperumal is the grand don of crime in Madras. His lieutenant, Pasupathi, brings a proposal. A large stash of cocaine, worth about ₹ 2 crore, has entered the city. The guy bringing the stash wants to sell it for ₹ 50 lakh. Pasupathi sees the immediate easy profit, as well as the long term benefit (to control the cocaine market with such a large supply) and the recognition that they are able to pull off such a deal. The drawback is that the stash really belongs to their arch-rival Gajendran. Singaperumal knows that Gajendran is a vicious and unpredictable adversary, and the venture is risky and likely to become messy. He decides to pass. Pasupathi dourly suggests Singaperumal is getting old and rusty. He asks Singaperumal to loan him the ₹ 50 lakh so he can do the job himself. Pasupathi is prepared to face the risks, and in return for the loan, he offers Singaperumal a cut of the profits. Singaperumal agrees to the loan, but, instead asks Pasupathi to first get the stash and then think of the profit distribution. The money for the loan is brought to Singaperumal.

Jeevan’s father helps Annachi after she is cheated by his brother. He soon becomes the object of affection of Annachi’s daughter, but he turns her down to pursue other goals in life.

Palakattu Madhavan (Vivek) is a lazy, irresponsible man. Embarrassed his wife Lakshmi (Sonia Agarwal) earns more than him, he quits his job out of spite. He then adopts the old woman Pattu Maami (Sheela) as a surrogate mother because she offers to pay cash for the opportunity. The character “Palakkattu Madhavan” is also an acknowledgement of a character with the same name in the movie Antha Ezhu Naatkal starring Bhagyaraj and Ambika.

A cop takes bribes from politicians and goons. He rethinks his life choices after he meets a girl.

An undercover cop becomes embroiled in a battle with warring criminals who want to acquire a “black box,” their ultimate key to a treasure.

A young man sets out to avenge his father’s death but soon realises that violence is not the key to his salvation. His life changes when he meets a young woman, who helps him rediscover himself.