Kanchana Full Story Explained (2011)

Raghava is an unemployed young man with an extreme fear of ghosts. He refuses to go outside after sunset. He sleeps in his mother Vatsala's room and forces her to accompany him to the bathroom at night. His family is annoyed but tolerates his behaviour. Raghava spends his days playing cricket with his friends. One day, construction begins on their usual cricket ground. They are forced to find a new place to play. They choose an abandoned plot of land that everyone says is haunted. While setting up the cricket pitch, a strange weather change scares them away. Raghava does not notice that his cricket stumps are stained with blood. The land is actually a graveyard where bodies are buried.

Raghava's sister-in-law Kamakshi's younger sister Priya comes to stay with the family. Raghava falls in love with her and starts wooing her. Priya likes him back. Meanwhile, strange supernatural events begin happening in the house. Vatsala and Kamakshi become scared. They consult a priest who suggests three rituals to test if a ghost is present. They send Raghava, Priya, and the children away on a fake trip. The rituals confirm that a spirit is in the house. They hire two fake priests who pretend to capture the ghost and take their money. The next night, the spirit possesses Raghava.

Raghava starts acting completely different. He behaves effeminately and wears a sari and women's jewellery in public. His mother slaps him in embarrassment. He secretly strangles a woman named Madhavi to death. Kamakshi sees him wearing her bangles at night and exposes him to the family. They realize Raghava is possessed by three spirits: a woman, a Muslim man, and an autistic man. A Muslim exorcist is called. He drives the spirits out and forces the woman's spirit to reveal her identity. She says her name is Kanchana.

Kanchana tells her tragic story. She was born as Karthik but was disowned by her parents for being transgender. A kind Muslim man named Akbar Bhai adopted her. He had an autistic son. Akbar renamed her Kanchana and gave her a home. Kanchana worked hard to support her adopted daughter Geetha's medical studies. Geetha got a scholarship and went abroad for further studies. Kanchana bought a plot of land with her savings. She wanted to build a free hospital for the poor. But a corrupt MLA named Shankar stole that land for his girlfriend Madhavi. When Kanchana and Akbar confronted Shankar, he murdered them. He also tricked Akbar's autistic son into committing suicide. He buried their bodies on Kanchana's own land.

The exorcist sympathizes with Kanchana but seals her spirit in a container. He gives Raghava a protective amulet. Raghava feels sorry for Kanchana. He removes the amulet and lets her possess him again. Raghava and Kanchana together fight Shankar and his men. Shankar runs into a Narasimha temple, believing spirits cannot enter. Kanchana prays to the god for permission to enter. She gets it, enters the temple, drags Shankar outside, and kills him. Years later, Raghava, Priya, and the family inaugurate a hospital built on Kanchana's land. Her dream is finally fulfilled. When local goons come to threaten them, Kanchana's spirit emerges from Raghava to fight them again.