Aaraattu is set in a fictional village called Muthalakotta. The rustic serenity of the place is rattled by the arrival of a stranger, Neyyattinkara Gopan, who is a rare mix of bravado and comic extravagance. The very purpose of his coming to the village undermines what the people there stand for. But their resistance withers layer by layer as Gopan weaves his spell on them. He is at once a hero and villain. It takes only a while for him to control the villagers. As they succumb to his devious design, little do they know what is kept in store for them