Aranmanai 4

Aranmanai 4 (transl. Palace 4) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language comedy horror film directed by Sundar C, who co-wrote the film with Venkatt Ragavan and S. B. Ramadass. It is produced by Khushbu Sundar’s Avni Cinemax and A. C. S. Arun Kumar’s Benzz Media (P) Ltd.

The film stars Sundar, leading an ensemble cast that includes Tamannaah Bhatia, Raashii Khanna, Ramachandra Raju, Santhosh Prathap, Kovai Sarala, Yogi Babu, VTV Ganesh and Delhi Ganesh in pivotal roles. It is the fourth installment in the Aranmanai film series. Hiphop Tamizha composed the music, while E. Krishnasamy and Fenny Oliver handled the cinematography and editing, respectively.

Aranmanai 4 was theatrically released on 3 May 2024, and received mixed to positive reviews from critics. The film grossed over ₹95 crore, making it the highest grossing film in the franchise and one of the highest grossing Tamil films of 2024.

In Northeast India, a priest and his daughter travel by boat to a temple during a festival. When the daughter is injured and her blood spills into the river, it releases Baak, a shapeshifting demon. Baak kills the daughter and assumes her form. The priest then traps Baak’s soul in a vessel, forcing it to take his daughter’s place permanently for the sake of his wife.

The scene shifts to a village where Selvi and her husband Santhosh live with their children, Shakthi and Saravanan Jr. Selvi’s husband dies of a heart attack in the forest, and Selvi apparently hangs herself in their well. Witnessing her deceased mother, Shakthi falls into a coma. Upon hearing of the deaths, Selvi’s brother Saravanan, an advocate, visits the grieving children along with his aunt. In the village, the zamindar’s granddaughter Maya, a doctor, is assigned to care for Shakthi. Soon, they start experiencing paranormal activities in the house.

Saravanan suspects that his sister Selvi’s death was not a suicide and visits the police station with Ravi, the village president’s son. They are dismissed rudely by the inspector. Ravi then shows Saravanan a video of his late brother-in-law being stalked by a sage before his death. Later, while they are in their jeep, a spirit attacks, and Saravanan steps out to investigate. During this, a spirit looking like Selvi attacks Ravi. Hearing Ravi’s scream, Saravanan returns to find the jeep and Ravi gone, with only the video camera left behind, showing footage of the sage once again.

The next morning, Saravanan finds the jeep smashed against a tree with Ravi’s corpse on top. Initially suspected by the police, Saravanan clears his name using the video camera evidence. The police, now convinced, help Saravanan search for the sage’s lair, where they find photographs of all the recent victims Selvi, Santhosh, Ravi and Shakthi. Convinced of the sage’s guilt, the inspector orders his capture.