In Madurai, veteran rooster trainer Periyasamy aka "Pettaikaaran" (V. I. S. Jayapalan) and Madurai Central Police Inspector Rathnaswamy (Aadukalam Naren) are tough competitors in cockfights, and it is often Pettai who wins because nobody knows his way of maintaining the quality of the birds. Rathnasamy and Pettai were once protegees of grand veteran Doraisamy, who has retired from active competition but is the overlord of rooster fighting in South Tamil Nadu.