Kara (film)

In 1990, Karasaami alias Kara tries to rob the local MLA's residence in Thiruverumbur, Trichy district along with his aid Murugesan. They both disguise themselves as EB line men so that public won't doubt them when they see them climbing walls. He uses gun powder to break locks. Kara asks Murugesan to break the lock as it was Murugesan's first theft and Kara's last theft. Kara has decided not to rob anymore and lead a peaceful life with his wife Selli. Unfortunately the family members arrive and finds out there are thieves inside. Kara helps Murugesan to escape but Murugesan left without helping Kara. Kara gets caught and beaten up badly. In the police station, Kara hang upside down. Selli arrives there and requests police to leave him and fights he is innocent. But Kara reveals he is a thief. Selli is shocked and leaves. In the police station, DSP Bharathan requests Police Commisioner to assign him the MLA theft case so that he can use the case to gain name and image. Bharathan accuses Kara for the theft he hasn't committed in order to make the theft look bigger. Kara learning the fact that he won't be able to get out of jail for these false accusations, beats Bharathan and escapes.

6 months later in Renigunta, Kara and Selli work in a local mess for daily wage. Their wage is too low to lead a normal life and they suffer in poverty. So, Kara asks for loan in a local bank to start his own Mess. But due to lack of security documents, Manager doesn't lend him loan. Kara hesitantly says he has 8 acres of land in his village. The Bank Manager asks him to submit the document and get the loan.

Kara with Selli travels to Ramanathapuram to visit his hometown. They both lodge a room. Kara leaves Selli in the hotel room and visits his village. It is revealed that Kara has stolen money from his father and ran away when he was 16 years old. Kara, fearing his father's anger hesitated to visit his village for these long years. While traveling he sees locals fighting for diesel in local petrol bunk establishing the 1991 Diesel crisis (Gulf War).

Upon arrival, Kara visits his maternal uncle Kasi. Kasi slaps Kara out of anger and scolds him. Broken, Kara boards the bus to leave the village but sees his father Kandhasaami. He immediately walks around but Kandhsaami identifies him. To Kara's surprise his father breakdown in tears and says he has been searching him for very long time. Kara's father rejoices his return and happily takes him to home without knowing Kara's true intention of selling the land. He thinks Kara has realised his mistakes and came to live with them.

Kara sees a tractor standing in the land and asks Kandhasaami about it. He says that the tractor was sold to him and other villagers on EMI basis and the documents are in the Panjavan Union Bank. Kara gets shocked and visits local broker to inquire about it. He says that the land can be sold even if the documents are with the bank. Kara returns to the lodge where Selli is staying and says everything that happened. She advises not to sell ask help from them as they were already in loan. But Kara says that selling the land will help them to settle their loan and he too can get his share. Arriving back at his village Kara asks his father to sell the land and settle the loan and give him 2 lakhs cash to start his own Mess. Kandasami becomes devasted hearing this and says firmly that he wouldn't sell the land. He also states that this land has descent from his ancestors and their bodies are resting there, and has become a temple. Kara leaves angrily.

Kandasami gets a letter from the bank warning about Seizure of land on failure of repayment of tractor loan. Kara gets back home and sees the letter. He angrily goes to the land to meet his father. Kandhasaami already present at the land was seen mourning. Kara confronts Kandhasaami. Kandhasaami says he was cheated by a well educated banker and was pushed into this loan trap along with his fellow villagers. Kara leaves broken but his father Kandhasaami mistakes that he is permanently leaving him and requests him to post letter about his whereabouts. The next morning Kara brings Selli with him to live along with him support his father out of this burden. There he sees Murugesan and asks him to leave out of anger. At home, Kandasami is dead. The villagers decides to burry Kandasami in his family land along with his ancestors but then the bank employees along with Police arrived there and doesn't let them to bury Kandhasaami in his land and a scuffle between police and villagers happen. Kara along with Kasi visit the Panjavan Union Bank's head office where they meet Muthu Selvan, the regional head. He mistreats them and send them away. Kara had previously sent Murugesan to inquire about keeping his father's body at mortuary but they say they can only store unclaimed bodies that too only for 8 days. Kasi confronts Kara for his actions but Kara breaks down saying ther is no option left other than this to preserve his father's body until they arrange cash to pay the debt and he was a thief and doesn't knows anything other then robbing. Emotionally broken Kara sets up his father's body as unclaimed body and the body is stored in Government hospital mortuary. Kara upon being mistreated in the bank, decides to steal the bank. He and Murugesan along with Kasi plans to break in into the bank. They decided to break into the bank that are located in least populated areas. They also learn the fact that there is a trigger mechanism active to prevent robbers from entering the bank.

Kara breaks into one of the branch of Panjavan Union Bank that is situated near bypass during night, the same way he broke into the MLA's house. But he couldn't steal the money as he was unaware of the bank's locker system. He then comes back unable to steal even a single penny. While he and his aid men were having tea in a local tea shop they witness the villagers eagerly watching a show. When they ask the tea shopkeeper about this, he says that for the next 30 minutes, everyone would be watching only the program. Seeing this Kara decides to break in during day time while the people are distracted by the TV show. He asks Kasi to get him Guns for the robbery. The next day they decides to rob Mudukulathur branch of Panjavan Union Bank. Once the show starts they enter the bank and threatens everyone with guns. They succeed in robbing. Tough huge amount of money was there, they only rob 3 lakhs rupees. While about to leave, a policeman arrives to open a bank account. Kara disguise himself as bank staff, Kasi as a bank customer and they escapes with the money. Police register case and one of the policeman informs Bharathan that same pattern has been followed as same as the MLA house robbery case. Meanwhile, Muthu Selvan arrives at the bank and he steals another 2 lakhs rupees that would be added in the robbery. Bharathan starts his investigation by gathering series number of the robbed notes and by gathering lists of recent customers to whom seizure notice has been sent.

Kara visits Head office to repay loan by changing the robbed notes with other notes. There the bank staffs asks them to pay another 1.47 lakhs stating that these are other charges and penalties. Enraged Kasi shouts at him but Kara notices DSP there and quietly walks out. Kara decides to break in one more time as same as the previous one. That night Muthu Selvan visits Kara and says that he found out he was the real thief behind the robbery. He wants Kara to rob for him and would share the money equally. He also says that he would get only 3000 rupees as profit if he does agriculture. Kara realises that despite knowing the low income of agriculture, Muthu Selvan has deceived the farmers and made them to trap in EMI worth 5000 rupees every month.

Bharathan deduces that there would definitely be another robbery and finds out that Paramakudi branch would be the next target. He sent mufti policemen to trap the robbers. Kara also plans to rob the Paramakudi branch and had cut the alarm wire the before night through which DSP finds out. But before Kara starts the robbery, all the policemen hurrily left the branch. Murugesan asks the manager about it for which he says robbery had took place at another branch. Confused Kara, visits the robbery site. There Muthu Selvan arrives and says he had arranged another robbers to rob the bank as Kara had planned a robbery behind his back. Now that the security in all the banks had tightened, Kara can't do another robbery. So he decides to steal from the robbers arranged by Muthu Selvan. They follow Muthu Selvan and finds out the robbers but Muthu Selvan finds out he is being followed and informs his robbers to be careful about Kara's arrival. After a scuffle with the robbers, they stab Murugesan and run away with the money. Kara safeguards Murugesan's life. He then calls Muthu Selvan to agree to work for him but he denies the offer and says that he will continue to rob using those robbers until Kara gets caught by the police. The money comes to him and case goes to Kara himself. Kara sees all the doors shut now. He goes home where Selli confronts him for all the robbery activities and reveals to him that she is pregnant.

Kara accepts the fate that he cannot arrange for the remaining cash and confess to his mother that he wouldn't be able to retrieve the land and bury his father there. To her dismay, he also says that his father died because of the grief of land being seized and fear of Kara abandoning them once again and he apologises. Kara's mother consoles him by saying that it was his father being reborn as Kara's son. Kara leaves all the activities behind and arranges for his father's funeral. On the way he decides to visit Murugesan. There the gun supplier asks Kara to deliver a long sickle to a client in Sayalkudi. The client happens to be a manager of Devar Magan movie shooting. Kara learns a huge amount is transported from Sayalkudi branch to the shooting spot. Kara sees this a last opportunity to arrange for the remaining money. Meanwhile, Muthu Selvan plans another robbery at Mudukulathur branch.

Kara steals the shooting money and drives away, but his car breaks down near the ageing villager's home who was Kandasami's elder relative. There Kara reads the letter sent by Panjavan Union Bank to seize his land. Kara also remembers that his father's wish is to fight for other villagers cheated by Muthu Selvan and his bank. Kara decides to pay for the other villagers' debt. He goes on a robbery spree.

Bharathan arrives at the site where Kara stole the shooting money. Meanwhile, Kara arrives at Parthibanur branch and robs there. Bharathan is informed about that and he moves there. Before even reaching there he gets another call about robbery in Abiramam which Kara did. He gets schocked. Before even thinking about that Kara robs Paramakudi Branch. It is to be noted that when Kara steals for his benefits he gets into lots of trouble but when he steals for villagers, there is nothing to stop him. Bharathan predicts that next robbery will be at Mudukulathur. As Muthu Selvan also planned the robbery at Mudukulathur, he tries to divert Bharathan to visit other branch but he doesn't. The policemen arrives at Mudukulathur where Muthu Selvan's men arrive to rob. Bharathan shoots them and they confess it was all planned by Muthu Selvan.

Muthu Selvan tries to escape but gets hit by a tractor and is badly injured (he cheats the villagers by selling tractors on EMI and now his death comes in form of a tractor). Kara goes to the Government Hospital mortuary and retrieves his father's body and arrange for funeral at his land. Meanwhile, Muthu Selvan is saved and is under serious treatment. He confess everything to Bharathan and reveals whereabouts of Kara. Bharathan stops the oxygen supply and kills Muthu Selvan. When he is about to go to arrest Kara, he gets a emergency call to visit Regional Head office of the Bank. There large number of poor villagers arrived to pay back the loan and retrieve their land documents. Bharathan realises that it was Kara who robbed the banks and sent the money to villagers for loan repayment.

Kara completes all the last rites to his father and buries him in his own land as per his wish. Bharathan arrives at the land and confronts Kara. Kara says that he does what is right to him. Bharathan arrests Kara but stops and thinks that if he arrests Kara now, people would celebrate Kara and sees him as villain where as if he frames Muthu Selvan for the robbery, Bharathan would be given name for cracking the case and manager would become the villian. He spares Kara and warns that he would come for him if he ever hears Kara's name in any of the crimes. Kara says he would be staying at his homeland and would never leave that. He drives the tractor and is implied that Kara took agriculture for living.

The music was composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar.^[21] The first single "Vaaya Ey Karasaami" was released on 14 March 2026.^[22] The second single "Kannamma En Kannamma" was released on 8 April.^[23] The third single "Ayya Ayya" was released on 28 April.^[24] The complete album, consisting of six tracks including the three singles, was unveiled on 29 April 2026.^[25]

Kara was released in theatres on 30 April 2026.^[26] It was initially planned to release in February 2026.^[27] The film waa distributed in Tamil Nadu by Red Giant Movies,^[28] while the overseas distribution rights were acquired by Ayngaran International.^[29] Anticipating a potential leak, Vignesh said he had the film removed from online storage services, in response to the leak of Jana Nayagan.^[30]