Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu
Tags: murder

Plot synopsis:
Rani (Bidushi Dash Barde), the daughter of former Chennai police officer Arokiya Raj (Prakash Raj), tells her father over the phone that she will be back home in Madurai in three hours. As she leaves the telephone booth, she is approached by someone she knows. Rani does not come home. The following morning, Arokiya Raj finds Rani's finger hanging at his door.
Arokiya Raj calls Raghavan (Kamal Haasan), his old friend and fellow police detective from Chennai, to help in the investigation of Rani's disappearance. With Raghavan's assistance, the police eventually find Rani's body in the outskirts of the city. The coroner's report states that the killer bisected Rani's body with a surgical knife, proving that the murderer has a strong medical background, and that he also savagely raped her. Following the trauma of losing their only daughter, Arokiya Raj and his wife (Rajashree) move to New York to be closer to their other children who are living in America.
After some time, Raghavan learns that Arokiya Raj and his wife have been brutally murdered in New York. This creates a link between the Chennai police and the New York Police Department. Raghavan leaves for New York to represent the Indian police. On the flight, he reminisces about his late wife Kayalvizhi (Kamalini Mukherjee), who was murdered by a local gang because he was a threat to them. Raghavan still blames himself for his wife's murder and has remained single ever since. Once in New York, he begins his investigation with NYPD detective Anderson (Lev Gorn).
Raghavan stays in a hotel in downtown New York where he constantly keeps his superiors in Chennai updated on the investigation. Staying next to his room is Aradhana (Jyothika), an NRI. He immediately notices that she is going through a rough time in her life. One night, he gets suspicious about what she is up to and breaks into her room, only to find her attempting suicide by strangling herself. Raghavan saves her life and the two strike a friendship. Aradhana reveals that her violent husband is filing for divorce after cheating on her.
At the same time, Raghavan and Anderson find a connection between Rani's murder in Madurai and an Indian-American girl, Chandana, whose finger was also found hung in her boyfriend's car. Using Raghavan's instincts, they find the body of Chandana and three more American girls raped and murdered in similar ways hidden in a restricted area in the suburbs. After narrowing down on their suspects based on flight records, their suspicion falls on two Indian medical students studying in New York — Amudhan (Daniel Balaji) and Ilamaaran (Salim Baigg).
Raghavan and Anderson visit Amudhan and Ilamaaran's apartment to question them. Since they are not home, Raghavan and Anderson break into their apartment and find photos and details of the murdered girls. Before they can call for backup, Amudan and Ilamaaran come home. A violent fight breaks out and Anderson is shot dead while Raghavan is injured and Ilamaaran falls unconscious. In order to buy time, Raghavan asks Amudhan why such intelligent young men like them would succumb to such psychopathic acts.
Amudhan explains that ever since they were children, they had developed a habit of killing. He claims that he managed to keep his violent urges under control for three years. However, the animal inside him was revived on the night he and Ilamaaran were arrested by Arokiya Raj for assaulting Rani. The inspector on duty had them locked up at a local station for a night with a eunuch who molested them. Thirsty for revenge, both of them left for New York City to pursue their higher studies in medicine and went on to kill many local young women. During their summer break in India, they killed Rani and then returned to the States. After finding out that Arokiya Raj had moved to New York, they killed him and his wife. Thinking Raghavan will be dead in minutes due to the stabbings, they set their apartment on fire and take the next flight to Mumbai to escape the NYPD.
Raghavan makes it out alive by jumping out the window and is hospitalised. Aradhana takes care of him and their bond grows stronger. Raghavan and Aradhana return to Chennai together. During their flight, Aradhana explains that she has a daughter who is living with her parents in Chennai and she feels guilty for wanting to commit suicide so selfishly. As they wait in line for customs, Raghavan proposes to Aradhana, but she refuses, saying that she is not ready for another relationship, having just finalised her divorce, as she wishes to focus on being a good mother to her daughter first.
Amudhan and Illamaran, who have evaded Mumbai police at Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, reach Chennai through Goa and Kozhikode. Amudhan, after seeing Aradhana with Raghavan, kidnaps her while Ilamaaran tries to get into Raghavan's house to kill him but flees after the cops charges. He is chased and caught by Raghavan. After murdering many, in a duel between them, Raghavan eventually kills both Amudhan and Illamaran and rescues Aradhana, who accepts his love and they marry.