An engrossing tale of the bonding between a collector and a terrorist with close parallels to persons and situations in India.

When the movie opens, the female leader (with a daughter) of a political party opens a statue of her husband who gave his life for the country. She and her daughter are kidnapped the same night by Veeraiyan (Nasser), a big-moustached, clothed-in-green terrorist, hiding out in the forest. In exchange for his life, he demands that his brother Arasappan (Napolean), who was shot by the police, must be treated in a hospital by the government and returned to him, as good as new. Mammootty, the law-enforcing collector who knows just the right way to deal with politicians and the police alike, is selected to be Napolean's host.

Rough and gruff Napolean is mellowed by the affectionate treatment at the hands of Mammootty's mother (Manorama) and his wife (Sangeetha). Other leaders in the political party wish to claim power and so plot to kill Napolean hoping that this would make Nasser kill their leader. But both their attempts are foiled by Mammootty, who also arrests them.

The police, led by Saranraj, ambush Veeraiyan's gathering and manage to rescue the leader and her daughter, though at the loss of many other lives. Napolean, on hearing this, escapes but is stopped by Mammootty who was ignorant of the police's action too. So Mammootty too goes on the run with Napolean, in order to deliver him to Nasser as promised. But Napolean, touched by the collector's actions, decided to give himself up to the police, leading to a powerful climax.

The director ensues a smooth flow throughout the movie, which helps hold our attention. Similarities to current, real-life personalities like Sonia Gandhi, Veerappan, etc. are hard to ignore. Equally good shows from the entire cast with Mammootty shining in another underplayed, dignified performance. But he and Napolean get the lion's share of the movie giving the feeling that people like Nasser, Radhika and Sangeetha have been wasted in small roles. Simran appears in one glamorous dance number with Raju Sundaram. The Koundamani-Senthil comedy track evokes some laughs.