Naam Shabana 2017

The film opens with two Indian agents under the command of Ranvir Singh (played by Manoj Bajpai) in pursuit of an elusive international arms dealer, Mikhail (Rajesh Bhati). Tragically, the agents fall victim to Mikhail, as he kills them both and vanishes into thin air. Fast forward a year, we meet Shabana Khan (Taapsee Pannu), an ambitious college student and skilled Judo fighter, who is being monitored by Indian intelligence as a potential recruit for their agency.

Shabana has a troubled past; she spent two years in a juvenile home for the involuntary manslaughter of her abusive father, who had mercilessly assaulted her mother, Shabana Begum (Natasha Rastogi). Despite this dark chapter, Shabana is dedicated to her studies and sports, refusing to let herself be distracted by romantic interests. However, her friend Jai, portrayed by Taher Shabbir, gathers the courage to invite her on a date, which she accepts with a hint of excitement.

During a Judo tournament, Shabana impressively outmaneuvers a more skilled opponent, showcasing her strategic prowess by wearing her adversary down before clinching victory in the last round. On a fateful night, she joins Jai for a birthday dinner, but their joyful outing quickly turns to tragedy. As they ride home on his bike, they become victims of harassment from a group of drunken men in a jeep, leading to a violent confrontation that results in Jai’s tragic murder at the hands of one of the assailants, Karan (Bhuvan Arora), who flees the scene.

Devastated by Jai’s death and the police’s inaction—citing a lack of evidence due to Shabana not capturing the license plate number—Shabana spirals into despair. Three months pass, and just when hope seems lost, she receives a mysterious call offering her the chance to avenge her lover’s death. Emphatically, she declares her intent to seek justice herself, insisting that the police’s failure to apprehend the killers is unacceptable. The voice on the other end reveals that the area where Jai was murdered had multiple security cameras that recorded the incident, and in just one hour, he had uncovered the identities of the culprits.

This caller proposes that Shabana join a covert agency, promising assistance in her quest for revenge. Though initially skeptical about the agency’s ability to have prevented Jai’s murder, Shabana soon agrees, convinced of their potential to help her exact vengeance. Following her decision, she gains intelligence on the killers’ whereabouts and engages in training to prepare for her mission.

Shabana travels to Goa, where the primary suspect, Karan, is staying at a hotel. Under the guidance of the agency, she infiltrates his room, kills him swiftly, and escapes with the help of Ajay Singh, portrayed by Akshay Kumar. The enigmatic caller is revealed to be none other than Ranvir Singh, guiding Shabana deeper into the agency, where she undergoes intense physical training and combat instruction under the watchful eye of an agent disguised as a cable technician, played by Virendra Saxena.

As her journey progresses, the plot thickens, centering on Mikhail—an infamous global arms dealer who has eluded capture for a decade. Previous attempts to apprehend him by two agents ended in tragedy. The intelligence team eventually locates Tony, recognized as Mikhail’s right-hand man, in Malaysia. During interrogation, Tony divulges the name of a German doctor responsible for Mikhail’s new appearance after undergoing facial reconstruction.

However, the agency’s attempt to contact the doctor leads to tragedy when Tony kills all three agents during the operation and reveals himself as Mikhail (Prithviraj Sukumaran). With Shabana now officially teamed up with Ajay, the duo hunts for Mikhail. They discover Sona (Eli Avaram), who possesses crucial information about Mikhail’s associate, Mallik. Following this lead, Ajay pushes Shabana to extract information from Sona regarding Mallik’s whereabouts.

In a thrilling turn of events, Ranvir learns from Ajay—who had interrogated Mallik—that Mikhail is on the verge of undergoing another surgical alteration to change his identity once more. With urgency, Shabana is deployed with a clear objective: eliminate Mikhail during this operation, partnering with Ajay Singh and Om Prakash Shukla (Anupam Kher).

Disguised as a patient, Shabana navigates through the hospital, eliminating Mikhail’s bodyguards. As she approaches her target in the operating theater, she is stunned to find Mikhail conscious, having refused anesthesia. A fierce struggle ensues, nearly resulting in Shabana’s demise at Mikhail’s hands. Nonetheless, she draws on her training and determination to ultimately kill Mikhail, once again finding her escape with Ajay’s help, leaving her past behind as she embarks on a new chapter of her life.