Story
YASHWANT (45), a veteran Mumbai police officer, is on the brink of receiving the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service, a significant milestone in his career. This achievement, however, comes at a moral cost. He struck a corrupt deal with a politician, AALOK (60s), in which he wrongfully arrested MALIK (early 30s), a student activist challenging Aalok’s corrupt practices, in exchange for the medal.
As Malik's detention period draws to a close, Yashwant faces intense pressure from Aalok and his superiors to extract a false confession linking Malik to terrorism, ensuring his continued imprisonment. Despite harsh interrogation, Malik stays resilient.
Simultaneously, Yashwant’s personal life is in turmoil. He is involved in a secret affair with FATIMA (38), with whom he fathers a son, ISMAIL (18). Fatima pushes Yashwant to formally acknowledge Ismail to facilitate his student visa application to Canada, a request Yashwant resists fearing the potential damage to his family and reputation.
Facing increased pressure, Yashwant and his squad decide to plant fabricated evidence in Malik's hostel room to justify prolonging Malik's custody, hoping to gain more time to force a confession from him. Amid this deceitful search, Ismail (who is a student at the same university) confronts Yashwant over his dispute with Fatima, leading to a heated exchange. Concurrently, Yashwant receives distressing news that his father has suffered a stroke and has been hospitalised. This news deeply affects Yashwant, triggering memories of a challenging childhood under his father's abusive and demanding presence. His relentless ambition to win the police medal has been an outlet for addressing his deep-seated feelings of inadequacy and a desperate desire to prove his worth to his father.
Distracted by these developments, Yashwant is unaware that Ismail observes the police team's contrived efforts to find "evidence" in Malik’s room. Detecting the deceit, Ismail secretly records a video of the team planting the evidence.
Back at the station, Yashwant’s focus is split as he considers visiting his hospitalized father. The team, using the planted evidence, successfully extends Malik’s detention. An emotionally unstable Yashwant leads an interrogation that accidentally results in Malik’s death. To cover up, Yashwant's team stages the death as a suicide, and Yashwant pleads with his superiors to avoid disciplinary action, which could jeopardize his medal.
Yashwant, unsettled, decides to drive to his father in Pune that night, accompanied by his wife, SHALINI (41). Shalini resents Yashwant's father as he had mistreated her and blamed her for the couple’s inability to bear children. During their drive to Pune, tensions escalate between them, leading to heated arguments. Shalini, suspecting that Yashwant might be infertile, demands the results of a fertility test he was recently forced to undergo. Yashwant, aware of his fertility proven by the existence of his illegitimate son with another woman, struggles to keep this information to himself during their bitter exchange.
Simultaneously, Ismail, enraged with Yashwant, uploads the evidence-planting video online, sparking a social media storm. The police department responds by suspending all involved officers, including Yashwant. Realizing his career and efforts are in jeopardy, Yashwant drops Shalini at the hospital and heads back to Mumbai. En route, he deduces that Ismail leaked the video. He contacts Aalok, proposing to frame Ismail for Malik's death in exchange for clearing Yashwant’s own record and reinstating his medal eligibility. He then manipulatively orchestrates a plan to apprehend Ismail, using both a helpless Fatima and his unsuspecting police colleagues.
After capturing Ismail, Yashwant learns of Aalok's intention to kill Ismail to prevent further whistleblowing. Despite securing his accolades, Yashwant is tormented by guilt over sacrificing his son for personal gain. Yashwant seeks comfort by talking to his ailing father. However, the hollow exchange with his father, who is in a state of delirium, only intensifies Yashwant's feelings of emptiness and the futility of his pursuits.
Driven by desperation, Yashwant resolves to save Ismail from Aalok's henchmen. Following an intense gun battle, Yashwant successfully extricates Ismail from danger. However, in the midst of their escape, a panicked and paranoid Ismail, mistaking Yashwant’s intentions, fatally shoots Yashwant. The next day, the world remains oblivious to Yashwant’s death. Yashwant's father, watching news reports of his son's corruption, feels shame and anger. Concurrently, Shalini receives results from the fertility clinic, revealing that Yashwant was impotent.
