Aranmanai 4 (transl. Palace 4) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language comedy horror film directed by Sundar C. It is created by Avni Cinemax and Benzz Media (P) Ltd. The film stars Sundar, leading an ensemble group that includes Tamannaah Bhatia, Raashii Khanna, Ramachandra Raju, Santhosh Prathap, Kovai Sarala, Yogi Babu, VTV Ganesh and Delhi Ganesh. The film was partially shot in Telugu as Baak with Vennela Kishore and Srinivasa Reddy replacing Babu and VTV Ganesh, respectively. It is the fourth episode in the Aranmanai film series. Hiphop Tamizha created the music, while E. Krishnasamy and Fenny Oliver handled the cinematography and editing, respectively.
Aranmanai 4 was theatrically released on 3 May 2024, and got mixed to positive reviews from critics. The film grossed over ₹100 crore at the box office against a budget of ₹30 crore, making it the highest-grossing film in the series and one of the top grossing Tamil films of 2024.
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Sundar C |
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| Story by | Sundar C |
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| Cinematography | E. Krishnasamy |
| Edited by | Fenny Oliver |
| Music by | Hiphop Tamizha |
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| Distributed by | Asian Suresh Entertainment LLP (Telugu) |
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Release date
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| Country | India |
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| Budget | ₹30 crore |
| Box office | ₹100.50 crorr |
Plot
In Northeast India, a priest and his daughter journey by boat to a temple during a festival. When the daughter is hurt and her blood spills into the river, it releases Baak, a shapeshifting demon. Baak kills the daughter and takes her form. The priest then traps Baak’s soul in a vessel, forcing it to take his daughter’s place forever for the sake of his wife. The scene changes to a village where Selvi and her husband, Santhosh, live with their children, Sakthi and Saravanan Jr. Santhosh dies of a heart attack in the forest, and Selvi allegedly hangs herself in their well. Witnessing her deceased mother, Sakthi goes into a coma. Upon hearing of the deaths, Selvi’s brother, Saravanan, an advocate, visits the grieving children along with his aunt. In the town, the zamindar’s granddaughter, Maya, a doctor, is assigned to care for Sakthi. Soon, they start having paranormal activities in the house.
Saravanan suspects that Selvi’s death was not a suicide and visits the police station with Ravi, the village president’s son. They are fired rudely by the inspector. Ravi then shows Saravanan a video of his late brother-in-law being stalked by a swami before his death. Later, while they are in their car, a spirit attacks, and Saravanan steps out to investigate. During this, a spirit looking like Selvi strikes Ravi. Hearing Ravi’s scream, Saravanan returns to find the car and Ravi gone, with only the video camera left behind, showing footage of the swami once again. The next morning, Saravanan finds the jeep smashed against a tree with Ravi’s body on top. Initially suspected by the police, Saravanan clears his name using the video camera proof. The police, now sure, help Saravanan search for the swami’s lair, where they find photographs of all the recent victims Selvi, Santhosh, Ravi, and Sakthi. Convinced of the swami’s crime, the inspector orders his capture.
Saravanan finds out that Sakthi, the inspector, and the late Ravi all share the same birthday. He checks with Maya that all three also have a red mole in common and tells her to protect the children. Saravanan confronts the swami to save the inspector. Meanwhile, the Northeast Indian priest arrives at Saravanan’s home, saying he is looking for his missing daughter. He tries to approach Sakthi but is expelled by Selvi’s ghost. Concurrently, the inspector dies after being impaled by a vel, and Sakthi wakes up from her coma, followed by Selvi’s spirit. During questioning, the swami reveals that Baak, an evil spirit capable of living in water and on land, had its soul trapped by the priest, diminishing its power. Baak followed the villagers when they relocated to the village, finally recovering its hidden soul. To regain full strength, Baak wants to sacrifice Sakthi, the inspector, and Ravi. Baak killed Selvi’s husband and took his form to approach Sakthi. Selvi, however, sacrificed herself to protect her children and returned as a spirit to guard them against Baak. The swami tells Saravanan to protect Sakthi at all costs to prevent Baak from becoming immortal.
Saravanan confides in his aunt about his regrets for not helping her. Meanwhile, Baak attacks the police station, causing injuries, but the swami manages to drive it away. During this chaos, Maya is stopped by Selvi’s spirit at the property gate while trying to attend Sakthi’s birthday party. Saravanan notices a blood spot on Maya’s lab coat that Selvi’s spirit appears to point at. Upon testing the blood in the lab, they find that Baak has been impersonating the swami. After facing the president, they find the swami’s dead body in the trunk of the president’s car. The president admits that the swami had gone to the graveyard to destroy Selvi’s spirit and her remains. Saravanan arrives too late, watching his sister’s spirit disappear while pleading for Sakthi’s safety. Baak then returns to claim Sakthi, but Maya flees with her to the temple festival. There, Saravanan battles Baak inside a big Asura sculpture. At the festival’s climax, a holy spirit destroys both the sculpture and Baak.
With the turmoil resolved, Saravanan promises Maya that the palace will be converted into a hospital for her to continue helping the village. Outside, the children play throwball with their mother’s spirit, showing that she continues to watch over them.
Cast
- Sundar C as Adv. Saravanan
- Tamannaah Bhatia as Selvi, Saravanan’s younger sister
- Raashii Khanna as Dr Maya Ramachandra Raju as the swami
- Santhosh Prathap as Santhosh, Selvi’s husband
- Kovai Sarala as Saravanan’s aunt Yogi Babu as a mestiri (transl. mason)
- VTV Ganesh as the carpenter Delhi Ganesh as the zamindar, Maya’s grandfather Jayaprakash as Varatha Rajan SV, village head
- Fredrick Jhonson as Ravi, Varatha Rajan’s son Rajendran as Rathnam Singampuli as Constable A. Sakthivel
- Deva Nandha as Sakthi, Selvi’s daughter Sanjay as Saravanan Jr
- Lollu Sabha Seshu as the zamindar’s helper
- Vichu Vishwanath as the money giver
- Yatin Karyekar as the priest Namo Narayana as K. Duraipandi
- Jayashri Chaki as Selvi, Duraipandi’s daughter
- Harsha Harish as the priest’s daughter
- Telugu translation
- Vennela Kishore as a mestiri (transl. mason)
- Srinivasa Reddy as a carpenter
- Cameo appearance
- K. S. Ravikumar as DSP S. Jagadheesan
- Khushbu Sundar in the song “Amman” Simran in the song “Amman”
Production
In mid-January 2023, Vijay Sethupathi was originally cast as the lead in the fourth installment of the Aranmanai film series, helmed by Sundar C. However, due to scheduling conflicts, Sethupathi stepped down, and Sundar took over the lead part. Later in March 2023 Raashii Khanna and Tamannaah Bhatia were picked as the female leads. Santhosh Prathap secured a pivotal part alongside Kovai Sarala, Yogi Babu, VTV Ganesh, Delhi Ganesh, Rajendran and Singampuli. In the Telugu partly reshot version, Vennela Kishore and Srinivasa Reddy were cast instead of Yogi Babu and VTV Ganesh. Additionally, Sundar returned with Hiphop Tamizha for the project. Principal photography began in March 2023 and wrapped by mid-September.
Release
Theatrical
Aranmanai 4 was initially scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release in mid-January 2024 during the Pongal week but was postponed to Republic Day. Later, it was pushed to 11 April, then to 26 April, and finally theatrically released worldwide on 3 May 2024, alongside the Telugu version titled Baak. The Hindi version was released on 31 May 2024
