Naane Varuvean Ending Explained: Decoding the Cliffhanger Climax of Dhanush-Selvaraghavan's Horror-Thriller and Kathir's Final Fate! (SPOILER ALERT)

Dhanush reuniting with his elder brother and director (now also an actor) Selvaraghavan should have been exciting news for fans of both the celebs. All their previous collaborations - Kadhal Konden, Pudhupettai and Mayakkam Enna (which came out in 2013) - were all special in their ways. But their fourth together-venture Naane Varuvean is the most surprising of all. Naane Varuvean Movie Review: Dhanush's Dual-Show is the Saving Grace in Selvaraghavan's Erratic Horror-Thriller.

First of all, it is a horror-thriller which is unexpected from a superstar like Dhanush (superstars usually avoid horror films though Dhanush's famous ex pa-in-law had did the blockbuster Chandramukhi at the peak of his career). Secondly, Naane Varuvean came with muted promotions - perhaps to hide the genre of the movie - which was a little bizarre since it was clashing with the mighty Ponniyin Selvan 1. Thirdly, Naane Varuvean is weakest of all their collaborations, sadly, despite Dhanush's fantabulous form in double role as the well-mannered Prabhu and his sociopathic twin Kathir.

While we have already discussed the merits and demerits of the film in our review, in this feature, let's look at the climax of Naane Varuvean and what the ending means for its main characters. Before we go ahead, let's warn you that the below article contains major SPOILERS about Naane Varuvean.

So let's begin...

The Plot

Kathir and Prabhu are identical twins but with contrasting personalities. While Prabhu is mild-mannered and disciplined, Kathir is a born sociopathic, whose antagonistic tendencies are further enhanced with his father's beatings and an incident involving a psychopathic hunter. Kathir ends up killing his father and nearly kills his twin, so his mother abandons him as a child taking only Prabhu with her.

Watch the Trailer:

Years later, Prabhu is now well-settled and a happy family man who dotes on his pre-teen daughter Sathya. However, after a trip to Himachal Pradesh, Sathya begins to display strange behaviour like talking to someone invisible in the night, Prabhu soon realises that she is being possessed by a vengeful spirit, who wants him to take revenge on someone from his past.

WARNING - MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD

Spirit's Vendetta

The spirit turns out to be dead nephew of Prabhu, that is Kathir's son, Sonu. Sonu also has a twin, and together along with their mute mother Madhuri and Kathir, they once used to be a happy family. That is, one day until Sonu stumbles upon the fact that his father is a murderous psychopath who hunts down people, who crosses him the wrong way, like sending them out as a bait in the forest (replicating the same trick the hunter once did to him) and shooting them down with arrows. Ponniyin Selvan 1 Ending Explained: Who is 'Oomai Rani' and How Does the Cliffhanger Climax of Chiyaan Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan-Starrer Lead to PS2.

Although Kathir warns Sonu not to tell his mother, Sonu still tells her prompting Kathir to chain them up so that they can't leave the house. Madhuri still manages to escape with her kids, but Kathir catches them up and in the process, Madhuri and Sonu are killed. Manu is alive and is left in Kathir's possession, which is why the ghost of his twin wants Prabhu to kill Kathir and save Manu.

The Climax

Though the meek Prabhu is no match for the wild Kathir, he still puts up a tough fight aided by Manu and Sathya, who is still possessed by Sonu, near a cliff around Kathir's hideout. In order to save the kids, Prabhu decides to take the ultimate step and jumps towards Kathir who was standing at the periphery of the cliff, pushing both of them down. However, miraculously, Prabhu manages to climb back alive, and it is presumed that Kathir has died in the fall. Manu is, however, not sure and he asks Prabhu to verify his father's death using his twin instinct. Prabhu closes his eyes for a moment, and when he opens them, they look tense as the film cuts to credits.

So what does it mean? Is Kathir dead or alive? Well, we have three theories about it, and any one of them could be right, or all them could be wrong. You can decide which holds water in the comments section below.

Kathir is Dead

Well, this thought of reasoning comes from the fact that as soon as Kathir and Prabhu fell from the cliff, Sonu leaves Sathya's body. Which means, he is sure that his father is no more. And we think ghosts could know better about Death than us.

Kathir is Alive

Imagine if Prabhu who ain't a fighter at all manages to survive that fall, then why not Kathir? Kathir has been a survivor for long, right from the time he managed to trick the hunter and get him killer and even surviving his mother's abandonment.

Kathir is a man of the forest, and he knows his ways in and out like a predator, and therefore it is difficult to believe that he could have died from the fall. Maybe he is still out there in the wilderness waiting like a wounded tiger to pounce on his victims and get back his son.

Kathir is a Ghost

This kinda harps on the above two theories. Kathir did die, but he simply couldn't allow Death to beat him, so he returns as a ghost and thanks to the twin instinct, has managed to possess Prabhu. So the tense look in Prabhu's eyes when he opens them in the last scene might be Kathir possessing him by then.

Whichever theory might be right from the above, there is very less possibility of seeing that being fulfilled in a sequel, as Naane Varuvean has opened to average theatre response and mixed to negative reviews. Maybe director Selvaraghavan might answer that question in a future forum.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 01, 2022 02:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).