Ab Ke Baras

Ab Ke Baras

Year: 2002

Runtime: 169 mins

Language: Hindi

Director: Raj Kanwar

FantasyAdventureThrillerRomanceDrama

Anjali Thapar, raised in the US, is haunted by recurring dreams of an Indian temple and sword‑wielding riders. After consulting a pandit, she learns the visions pertain to a past life. Defying her father’s insistence that she marry his chosen man, she runs away to India, where ruthless CBI officer Sikander Baksh is assigned to track her. In India she meets car‑thieves Karan and his uncle, and discovers she was Nandini, the lover of freedom fighter Abhay, whose life was ended by the British‑backed traitor Tejeshwar Singhal.

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Ab Ke Baras (2002) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Read the complete plot breakdown of Ab Ke Baras (2002), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.

U.S.-based Anjali Thapar has recurring dreams of a parallel life in India: a temple dedicated to Devi Maa Durga, and a group of sword-wielding riders that feel startlingly real. She and her mother seek guidance from a pandit, who advises them that the truth behind these visions lies in India and in Anjali’s supposed past. When her father insists she marry the man he chooses, Anjali chooses to flee. Her father promptly flags the escape, summoning her uncle—a ruthless CBI officer—DCP Sikander Baksh, who soon closes in on her trail.

On the run, Anjali crosses paths with car thieves Karan and his uncle, and her journey quickly shifts into the realm of a remembered life as [Nandini], the lover of freedom fighter Abhay, and his brutal end at the hands of the British-backed traitor Tejeshwar Singhal. The romance-and-revolt backdrop of that past bleeds into her present, and the two worlds collide as she and Karan stumble into a college camp where they pose as husband and wife. The campus community treats them with warmth, dressing them in new clothes and offering hospitality, a contrast to the danger they’ve left behind. Yet their veneer dissolves the next morning when they must flee again and stumble into trouble with a gang led by the relentless Rudra Singh, who holds them hostage while hunting for a stash of illegal arms hidden in a car.

In a desperate bid for freedom, Anjali lures the gang away into the forest, insisting that Karan run while she buys time. Karan refuses to abandon her, and the two are caught in a brutal skirmish where Karan takes a grave wound and is left near the river, presumed dead. Anjali is dragged to a vast villa, where Rudra Singh’s revengeful reach keeps her isolated in a room. She proclaims that Karan is alive and will return, setting the stage for a climactic reckoning.

Meanwhile, a doctor who remembers Tejeshwar’s own brutal past explains the vicious circle—Tejeshwar is a remnant of colonial-era oppression, a figure whose cruelty was once unleashed by British authority. Anjali stares at a portrait of Tejeshwar and begins to plot her escape, steeling herself for what she must do to bring him down. Across the room, Tejeshwar is campaigning for elections, surrounded by his sons and an aide, as his grip on power tightens. The mood shifts again when Rajvir Singhal arrives with a cadre of henchmen and a dangerous charm, and he meets Anjali with an almost immediate spark that complicates her mission.

During the celebratory evening in Tejeshwar’s honor, Anjali suspects a secret beneath the surface of Rajvir’s goodwill. She befriends him and, with deft cunning, extracts the hidden safe details about his illegal money, aiming to expose the corruption at the heart of Tejeshwar’s operation. Rajvir, sensing the danger, turns violent and attacks with shards of glass, but Karan saves her in a tense, decisive clash that ends with Rajvir’s death and the family blaming his uncle for the tragedy.

As Tejeshwar’s illicit shipments crumble, the peril escalates when he abducts Anjali and the man who has posed as her protector. A dramatic helicopter pursuit unfolds: Karan and the police strike back with a counterattack that brings Tejeshwar’s regime to a crashing halt. The rescue culminates in a police operation that kills Tejeshwar and his elder son, and Sikander Baksh presents a symbolic freedom order that seals Karan’s payoff—yet the most lasting moment comes when he binds the two lovers’ hands with the same chains that once restrained them, a stark gesture that unites Karan and Anjali Thapar forever in a shared fate. The tale blends memory, romance, and action into a single, sweeping arc that respects both its past and its present.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 16:54

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Past Life Thrillers like Ab Ke Baras

Soulmates from a past life collide with danger in the present.If you liked the blend of historical romance and modern suspense in Ab Ke Baras, explore more movies like it. This list features similar stories of reincarnation, where characters are haunted by past lives, leading to tense chases, tragic love, and the resolution of ancient conflicts in the present day.

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These narratives typically unfold across dual timelines, weaving a tragic historical romance with a high-stakes present-day thriller. The protagonist's journey is one of self-discovery and danger, driven by unexplainable visions that lead to a confrontation with a villain whose evil has transcended time. The emotional journey is heavy, balancing the weight of a past tragedy with the urgency of a current chase.

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Movies are grouped here for their unique fusion of a deep, fated romance with the pacing and tension of a chase thriller. They share a specific mood—haunting, suspenseful, and romantic—created by the constant interplay between a bittersweet past and a dangerous present.

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The narrative pattern follows a protagonist who becomes a fugitive, often unjustly or due to circumstances beyond their control. They are hunted by a powerful, often corrupt antagonist. The plot is propelled by action sequences and narrow escapes, but the emotional core is the gradual revelation of a painful secret from the past that explains the present conflict and deepens the character's motivation.

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These films are grouped by their shared high-intensity pacing and tense tone, created by a relentless cat-and-mouse dynamic. The combination of physical danger with the unraveling of a heavy, tragic backstory creates a cohesive experience of desperation and high stakes.

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Ab Ke Baras

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Ab Ke Baras

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