A Kuala Lumpur–based don Kabaleeswaran alias Kabali (Rajinikanth) is released after spending 25 years in prison on a false charge of starting a massacre at a local Hindu temple that killed many, including his wife Kumudhavalli alias Kumudha (Radhika Apte).
Soon after, his life comes under threat from old enemies, but suspecting that his wife may still be alive, Kabali delves into his past, sifting through the complex sequence of events that led to him becoming a gangster and which culminated in the brutal attack and apparent death of his beloved wife, who was pregnant at the time. To add to his woes, he was framed for the massacre and sent to prison.
Can Kabali confront those responsible for framing him, trace his family's whereabouts and reunite with them? Will Kabali rise once more as a powerful leader to decimate the tyrannical reign of his enemies Veera and Tony?