King of Kotha

Story:

In 2023, Abhilash Joshiy made his directorial debut with the Malayalam-language period action thriller King of Kotha. Wayfarer Films and Zee Studios co-produced the movie, which features Dulquer Salmaan in the title role. Shabeer Kallarakkal, Prasanna, Gokul Suresh, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Nyla Usha, Shammi Thilakan, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sajitha Madathil, Shanthi Krishna, Saran Shakthi, and Anikha Surendran are among the ensemble cast members.

At Karaikudi, principal photography started on September 27, 2022, and ended on February 21, 2023. Additionally, Rameswaram and Ramanathapuram were used for filming. Jakes Bejoy and Shaan Rahman wrote the soundtrack, while Nimish Ravi and Shyam Sasidharan handled the photography and editing.

On August 24, 2023, during the Onam weekend, King of Kotha was published globally to largely unfavorable reviews from critics. With a budget of ₹50 crore, King of Kotha had a successful debut at the global box office, earning approximately ₹38.08 crore. The movie was a box office failure.

1996: CI Shahul Hassan is moved to Kotha, a fictitious town close to the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border that is plagued by crime. When Shahul investigates the village further, he discovers that the residents—particularly the youth—are drug addicts. As Shahul looks into the history of the drugs, he discovers that Kotha’s dictator, Kannan Bhai, is a violent and infamous drug lord. When Shahul tries to arrest Kannan Bhai, he is humiliated and abused by Kannan and his men, known as K-TEAM. Shahul visits Kannan Bhai at his casino with SI Tony Titus. Shahul is embarrassed by this and begins asking Tony about Raju because Kannan had already brought up the name. Then, Tony discloses Raju’s history.

1986: Raju, the former Kotha ruler and Kannan’s childhood friend, is a notorious and haughty mobster. Raju was revered as a god by the Kotha people in spite of his violent tendencies. Tony and Kannan are members of Raju’s gang and the “Winners Kotha” football squad. The ruler of Gandhigram, a nearby town, Ranjith Bhai, and Raju are often at odds. Ranjith, on the other hand, respects Raju’s father, Kotha Ravi, who was a mobster in the past, and never hurts him.

After meeting Tara, Raju develops feelings for her. Raju is opposed to Kannan’s attempts to help him and his group deal with drugs because Tara’s brother killed himself after overdosing on drugs. Because his toxic mother, Malathi, despises him for being a mobster, Raju does not get along well with his parents.

Raju breaks up with Tara and starts drinking excessively after Ranjith sends pictures of her hanging out with a journalist named Nikhil who lives in Bombay one day. Kannan chooses to work with Ranjith and consents to bringing cannabis into Kotha because he is so consumed by his desire for wealth and power. Raju becomes furious upon learning about it and confronts Kannan, who declines to divulge any information on the drugs. Raju fights with Kannan and hurts his right eye in the process.

Malathi tells Raju to leave Kotha and never return after realizing a few days later that his alcoholism may shorten his life. On the eve of the FIFA World Cup Finals, Raju departs Kotha and disappears.

1996: Tony receives a fax from the Lucknow police station stating that Raju is a retired assassin named “Raju Madrassi” after Shahul instructs him to inquire about Raju with the UP Police. Shahul notifies Raju by telegram that his sister Rithu is in danger. Rithu and Jinu, Kannan’s drug-addicted brother-in-law, are in love. Jinu is taken away for carrying cannabis packets by Tony, who shows up with his force as they are seated in a restaurant. 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.

Raju, who has returned to Kotha after receiving Tony’s telegraph, brutally murders Jinu. After learning about this, Jinu’s sister Manju makes the decision to murder Raju. Additionally, it is disclosed that Kannan murdered Ranjith in order to wed Manju. When Kannan runs up Raju at a club that evening, he finds out that Raju has increased his level of danger since attending UP. After a battle, which Manju sees, Raju thrashes the men that Manju sent to kill him. Raju refuses Shahul’s request to kill Kannan the following day, claiming that Kannan remains his best buddy. When Kannan dispatches “Suitcase Leslie,” a contract killer, to kill Raju, Raju kills Leslie and gives Kannan his body.

Raju visits Tara’s home that evening to extend an invitation to Rithu’s birthday, but Kannan shows there and stabs Tara in front of Raju. Raju receives a call from Kannan while Tara is being taken to the hospital, and he quickly heads to the dockyard to discover Ravi hung by Kannan’s goon Katta. Kalikutty, Kannan’s mother, vows to take Kannan to Raju so that Raju can murder him. When Manju shows up, Kannan catches Raju and stabs him. Raju discloses that he has known Manju since she was a teenage prostitute and that Jinu was, in fact, her son, born following her stepfather’s abuse of her.

However, Raju is still alive and planning his attack on Kannan. He sends a letter to Shahul, saying he has accepted Shahul’s earlier offer. Raju kills all of Kannan’s K-Team Members, including Njarambu, Katta, Memu, and Kukkudu, but spares Kannan’s secretary Peelan. Raju offers the entire town of Kotha to Peelan in exchange for killing Kannan. Peelan accepts the offer and switches sides. Raju goes to Kannan’s casino and confronts Kannan, who brings a group of contract killers to kill Raju. Raju kills all of them and incapacitates Kannan. Raju tells Kannan that he cannot kill him as he still considers him his best friend, and he brings Ranjith’s son Sonu to kill him. It is also revealed that Ranjith’s men helped Raju escape from Kannan’s hideout earlier. Sonu kills Kannan and hands the gun over to Raju, who kills Peelan, declaring that Kotha doesn’t need a dictator anymore.