Jawan

As the train hurtles through the Mumbai Metro tracks, Azad (Shah Rukh Khan), the cunning jailer of a women's prison, masterminds a daring hijacking alongside six inmates with unique skills: Lakshmi (Priyamani), the maternal figure; Eeram (Sanya Malhotra), the medic; Ishkra (Girija Oak), the artistic genius; Kalki (Lehar Khan), the munitions expert; Helena (Sanjeeta Bhattacharya), the hacking prodigy; and Janhvi (Aaliyah Qureishi), the melodic composer. With 376 hostages at his mercy, Azad negotiates with NSG officer Narmada Rai (Nayanthara) to secure a massive Rs 40,000 Crores from Agriculture Minister Murari Das (Naresh Gossain) in exchange for sparing the lives of the captives.

The hijacking sparks a chain reaction, as global arms dealer Kalee Gaikwad (Vijay Sethupathi) learns that his daughter Alia (Ashlesha Thakur) is among the hostages. Unbeknownst to Alia, her father agrees to fund Azad's operation, driven by a personal stake in the outcome. As the group navigates this precarious situation, Azad reveals his plan to utilize the massive sum to provide loan waivers for 700,000 impoverished farmers across the country.

The emotional stakes are raised as Azad shares his story with Alia, revealing that his true identity is Vikram Rathore, a name familiar to Kalee from their past. Meanwhile, Narmada Rai's daughter Suji (Seeza Saroj Mehta) becomes smitten with Azad, leading to an unexpected marriage proposal and subsequent union between the two.

Throughout this high-stakes drama, the characters' complex motivations and backstories are expertly woven together, as the fate of the hostages hangs precariously in the balance. As the clock ticks down, the tension builds towards a thrilling climax that will leave viewers on the edge of their seats.

As the stakes escalate, Azad's ruthless tactics intensify, with the notorious outlaw and his cohorts orchestrating a daring heist by kidnapping the health minister (Ashwin Kaushal), demanding drastic infrastructure upgrades at government hospitals in exchange for the official's life. This sinister plot is rooted in the dark past of Eeram, a former doctor who witnessed the tragic demise of 60 children at a government hospital where inadequate oxygen supplies were prioritized over human lives. The corrupt dean, more concerned with lining his pockets than saving the young patients, had refused to sanction the essential medical equipment until payment was made. Eeram's desperate attempts to procure oxygen ultimately proved futile, and the devastating consequences of her failure led to a life imprisonment sentence, with the court conveniently ignoring the damning evidence of the dean's complicity. Azad seizes the opportunity to expose the truth on national television, prompting an immediate overhaul of infrastructure at 236 hospitals.

As the action unfolds, Azad and his gang make their escape after a tense shootout with Narmada and her team. Narmada, however, remains hot on their trail, tracking down Azad's location when he requests a chopper for evacuation. The cat-and-mouse game continues unabated.

The revelation of Azad's true identity sends shockwaves through Narmada's world, leading to a heart-wrenching confrontation that ends in brutal captivity at the hands of Kalee's brother Manish (Eijaz Khan) and his ruthless henchmen. Just as all hope seems lost, Vikram Rathore (Shah Rukh Khan), Azad's doppelganger, intervenes with swift justice, dispatching Manish's goons and leaving him severely disfigured.

As Narmada delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Azad and his accomplices, she assumes a new identity to infiltrate their ranks, uncovering the intricate web of connections between them. The narrative takes a poignant turn as Lakshmi provides a gripping flashback account, tracing Vikram's journey from his days as a commando in the Indian Army to the fateful events that led him to confront Kalee.

In 1986, Captain Vikram Rathore was part of an elite Special Ops unit tasked with tracking down the terrorist group responsible for the brutal attack on 40 innocent civilians and six soldiers. The operation proved devastatingly costly, with 27 members of Vikram's unit losing their lives due to faulty weaponry. Despite these casualties, Vikram and his team managed to neutralize the terrorists. However, Vikram's quest for justice took a personal toll when he filed a complaint against Kalee, the supplier of the defective arms.

The stage is set for a thrilling showdown as Vikram proves in a military court that the weapons provided were indeed faulty, while Kalee argues that human error was to blame. That fateful night, Vikram and his wife, Aishwarya (Deepika Padukone), became targets of Kalee's vengeance, culminating in a shocking attack that seemingly left Vikram dead on a plane.

As Kalee's machinations unfold, a cleverly planted web of deceit ensnares Vikram's reputation, with incriminating evidence strategically placed at his residence suggesting a shocking betrayal: the alleged sale of state secrets to enemy forces. This calculated move sparks a chain reaction, culminating in the dispatch of three authorities to harass Aishwarya and extract a damaging statement against her husband, Vikram (Vikram's fate was already sealed when he was declared a national traitor).

Meanwhile, Aishwarya's own dark past came back to haunt her: sentenced to death for taking the lives of three cops, who were unwittingly on Kalee's payroll. However, fate intervened, and just as the noose awaited her, Aishwarya revealed she was pregnant, halting the execution until her child, Azad, turned five years old. Tragically, Aishwarya gave birth to Azad in prison, only for her life sentence to continue unabated.

Years later, when Azad reached the age of five, his mother's final wish was for him to uncover the truth and bring justice to those wronged by Vikram's supposed treachery. Unbeknownst to the world, Vikram had miraculously survived the attack but suffered a catastrophic loss of memory.

Vikram found himself rescued by a tribal group in northeast India, where he spent the next three decades rebuilding his life amidst the rustic charm of their village. The same region would later play host to a pivotal twist: an inhabitant of this very community recognized Vikram's face on Azad, setting off a chain reaction that would ultimately reunite father and son.

Initially, Vikram struggled to reconcile with Azad, admitting he felt nothing due to his memory loss. However, as events transpired, he came to accept Azad as his own, even if their bond was tempered by the vagaries of his forgotten past.

Meanwhile, in the present, Narmada's right-hand man Irani (Sunil Grover) was revealed to be a puppet on Kalee's strings when he attempted to eliminate her in prison. Lakshmi became an unfortunate casualty in the ensuing crossfire. Azad's timely intervention in this chaos saw Irani meet his demise at the hands of a stampede triggered by the opening of prisoner barracks.

With Kalee's plans for election financing and political gain foiled, Vikram, Azad, and their team launched a daring assault on Kalee's trucks, intercepting the money intended to fuel his political ambitions. This windfall was courtesy of the mafia, seeking to expand their illegal enterprises in India once Kalee formed the next government.

As the dust settled, Azad's bold move saw him steal the voting machines, while Vikram and his old army team found themselves captured by Kalee's henchmen. Amidst this chaos, Nirmala's forces quietly siphoned off electronic machines intended for use in the upcoming elections, their true intentions shrouded in mystery.

In a final flourish, Azad broadcast another provocative video, daring the government to seal 53 factories responsible for air and water pollution. The authorities responded, sealing these facilities and bringing some measure of justice to those affected by their toxic activities.

As Kalee seizes control of the women's prison, she discovers that her quarry, Azad, is being held within its walls. Utilizing inside information courtesy of Vikram, she orchestrates a seamless infiltration and apprehends Azad with ease. However, her triumph is short-lived, as Azad's possession sparks a fierce struggle between the two foes. Kalee demands to know the location of his ill-gotten gains, but before any revelations can be extracted, Vikram awakens from his amnesiac haze, fueled by a sudden surge of adrenaline and determination. Seizing the opportunity, Vikram turns the tables on Kalee, employing his newfound cunning to engineer her downfall. A cleverly executed maneuver results in Kalee's untimely demise, suspended high above the prison floor.

Months later, STF officer Madhavan Naik (Sanjay Dutt), a seasoned operative who had previously collaborated with Azad on numerous covert missions, presents him with a new assignment of paramount importance. With his sights set on the lucrative Swiss banks, Azad is tasked with executing a daring heist that will leave its mark on the global financial landscape.