King of Kotha

Spoiler-free synopsis

1996: Police inspector Shahul Hassan is transferred to a fictional crime-infested town called Kotha, which is situated near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Shahul enquires more about the town and learns that the citizens, especially teenagers are addicted to narcotics. While investigating the origin of the narcotics, Shahul learns about Kannan Bhai, a notorious drug lord, who is the virtual dictator of Kotha. Shahul meets Kannan Bhai at his casino along with Sub-Inspector Tony Titus, where he is humiliated and beaten by Kannan and Kannan's men, known as K-TEAM, after Shahul tried to arrest Kannan. This humiliates Shahul, who starts inquiring about Raju from Tony as Kannan had earlier mentioned the name. Tony then reveals Raju's past. 1986: Raju is a notorious and arrogant gangster, and Kannan's childhood friend, who was the former dictator of Kotha. Despite his violent nature, Raju was loved by the people of Kotha like a god. Tony and Kannan are part of Raju's gang and football team called "Winners Kotha." Raju is always at loggerheads with Ranjith Bhai, the head of the neighboring town, Gandhigram. However, Ranjith never harms Raju out of respect for Raju's father, Kotha Ravi, who was also a gangster in the past. Raju meets Tara and falls in love with her. Kannan tries to get Raju and his gang to deal with narcotics, but Raju disagrees because Tara's brother committed suicide due to a drug overdose. Raju does not have a good relationship with his parents, as his toxic mother, Malathi, hates him for being a gangster. One day, Ranjith sends photos of Tara hanging out with a Bombay-based journalist named Nikhil, causing Raju to break up with Tara and start drinking heavily. Blinded by his greed for wealth and power, Kannan decides to partner with Ranjith and agrees to transport cannabis into Kotha. When Raju finds out, he becomes enraged and confronts Kannan, who refuses to reveal anything about the narcotics. Raju gets into a fight with Kannan and ends up injuring Kannan's right eye. A few days later, Malathi realizes that Raju may not live for long due to his alcoholism and advises him to leave Kotha and never come back. Raju leaves Kotha on the night of the FIFA World Cup Finals and later goes missing. 1996: Shahul tells Tony to enquire about Raju with the UP Police, and Tony receives a fax from the Lucknow police station about Raju being a retired assassin named "Raju Madrassi." Shahul sends a telegram to Raju, saying his sister Rithu is in danger. Kannan's drug-addicted brother-in-law Jinu and Rithu are in love. As they are sitting in a restaurant, Tony arrives with his force and takes Jinu away for carrying cannabis packets. Rithu later cuts all ties with Jinu. After his release, Jinu goes to Rithu's house to talk to her but is kicked out by Ravi. The next day, Jinu tries to set Rithu on fire by dousing her in gasoline, but she manages to escape as Tony arrives. Jinu is brutally killed by Raju, who has returned to Kotha after receiving the telegram from Tony. Jinu's sister Manju learns about this and decides to kill Raju. It is also revealed that Kannan killed Ranjith in order to make Manju his wife. That night, Kannan meets Raju at a bar and learns that Raju has become more dangerous after going to UP. Manju sends men to kill Raju, but he thrashes them after a fight, which Manju witnesses. The next day, Shahul makes an offer to Raju to kill Kannan, but he declines, stating that Kannan is still his best friend. Kannan sends a contract