Aranmanai 3 (Eng: The Palace 3) is an 2021 Indian Tamil-language comedy horror film written directed by Sundar C. The film stars an ensemble star cast including Sundar C, Arya, Raashii Khanna and Andrea Jeremiah, with Sakshi Agarwal, Vivek marking the first posthumous release, Myna Nandhini, Yogi Babu, Nalini, Manobala, Sampath Raj, Baby Ovi Bhandarkar, Vincent Asokan, Madhusudhan Rao and Vela Ramamoorthy in prominent roles. It is the third instalment in the Aranmanai film series, produced by Khushbu under the banner of Avni Cinemax, with cinematography by U. K. Senthil Kumar, music composed by C. Sathya, and film editing by Fenny Oliver. The story revolves Jyothi (Raashii Khanna), who is threatened by a vengeful spirit, as she tries to discover the truth with her relative Ravi (Sundar C.). Aranmanai 3 was announced in January 2020 and shoots were scheduled to begin in February.
Aranmanai 3 begins with a young Jyothi encounters a spirit in her home, terrifying her. Her father, Zamindar Rajasekhar, resents Jyothi as her mother died giving birth to her. Believing that she is lying for attention, he angrily sends her off to a boarding school.
Many years later, a court ruling forces Rajasekhar to open a secret room at the village temple. Rajasekhar is terrified and angry at the ruling, and is shocked when nothing is found inside the room. Soon after, Rajasekhar’s manservant and driver, Durai, commits suicide. Jyothi, now an adult, returns for Durai’s funeral, and falls in love with her childhood sweetheart, Saravannan.
Jyothi realizes that the spirit that haunted her is now haunting her young relative Shalu. Jyothi is later lured to her late mother’s room and nearly killed by a falling chandelier, but is saved by a portrait of her late mother, Eeshwari. She later has another encounter with both Eeshwari’s spirit and the spirit haunting Shalu. One night, Shalu argues with the hostile spirit and is doused in paint thinner. She is chased by flames and rescued by her father, Ravi. Jyothi convinces Ravi to investigate the mysterious occurrences for Shalu’s sake.
Ravi investigates Eeshwari’s room and discovers a photo of Jyothi’s parents with three servants, with the faces of two servants scratched out. He encounters Eeshwari’s spirit and the third servant in the photo is killed shortly after. Ravi and Jyothi bring priests to exorcise the palace. They trap one of the two ghosts, but the other appears and destroys the trap, revealing that it has possessed Saravanan. Ravi tells Jyothi that this spirit is Eeshwari, who was responsible for the murders and the attack on Jyothi.
Rajasekhar is spooked by the deaths and visits Saamiyaadi, a hermit priest. Saravanan attacks the pair. Ravi manages to rescue Rajasekhar, but Saamiyaadi is left behind and is confronted by Eeshwari. Rajasekhar reveals the truth to Ravi. He had forcibly married Eeshwari after falling for her at her wedding to Saamiyaadi’s son, Samikannu. When their child is born, the child resembles Samikannu, and Rajasekhar realizes that she had already been pregnant at the wedding. A furious Rajasekhar has the child secretly killed and buried in the palace, then kills Eeshwari. He replaces the dead child with Durai’s newborn daughter and claims her as his own.
Samikannu steals Eeshwari’s body and attempts to use black magic to revive her, but is horrified when she returns as a ghoul and abandons her in the forest. Eeshwari later kills the midwife who poisoned her child and threatens Rajasekhar. Rajasekhar convinces Saamiyaadi to help him destroy the spirit his son revived. Saamiyaadi tricks Samikannu into luring out Eeshwari’s spirit and traps her in the hidden room in the temple. During the attempt, Saamiyaadi accidentally kills Samikannu and withdraws to the forest to mourn.
In the present, Eeshwari reveals that it was Durai who had killed Samikannu on Rajasekhar’s order. She wants to replace the soul in Jyothi’s body with that of her dead child, believing that Jyothi is living the life that her child should have had. She convinces Saamiyaadi to raise the spirit of Samikannu to help her. Ravi and Jyothi trap and take the spirit of Eeshwari’s child to the priests who had helped them. They initially try to lay her and Eeshwari to rest, but they are blindsided by the arrival of Samikannu. Rajasekhar is killed, but Jyothi, Ravi, and the priests manage to banish the three spirits during a holy festival, freeing Saravanan. Saravanan and Jyothi marry. A sequel is hinted.
Directed by Sundar C.
Written by Sundar C.
Screenplay by Sundar C.
Produced by Khushbu, Sundar C., A.C.S. Arunkumar & A.C. Shanmugam
Starring Sundar C., Arya, Raashii Khanna, Andrea Jeremiah
Cinematography U. K. Senthil Kumar
Edited by Fenny Oliver
Music by C. Sathya
Production Avni Cinemax & Benzz Media (P) Ltd.
Distributed by Red Giant Movies
Release date 14 October 2021
Running time 155 minutes
Country India
Language Tamil
