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Babumoshai Bandookbaaz (2017) movie poster

Plot Summary

Babumoshai Bandookbaaz (2017) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language
2017 · 122 mins · Hindi
Directed by
Kushan Nandy
Starring
Bidita Bag, Divya Dutta, Murali Sharma, Shraddha Das, Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Babu Bihari and Banke Bihari are skilled contract killers operating in Uttar Pradesh. When they are hired to eliminate the same target, their professional lives collide, leading them into a conflict with each other. The film explores their rivalry and the consequences of their violent profession.

On this page (5)
  1. 1 What happens: full plot
  2. 2 Plot questions answered
  3. 3 Movie threads
  4. 4 Movies like Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
  5. 5 Every angle

Full plot summary · contains spoilers

What Happens in Babumoshai Bandookbaaz: Full Plot Summary

The whole story of Babumoshai Bandookbaaz (2017) explained, from the opening scene to the final frame: every key event, every twist and what it all adds up to. Read it as a quick recap before the sequel, to check a scene you missed, or to finally understand what really happened.

In the tangled world of Uttar Pradesh politics, where power players like Dubey and Jiji pull the strings, a lone hitman named Babu Bihari trades in danger and silence. He operates for both sides, charging ₹20,000 for each targeted man and handing a ₹5,000 cut to the constable who arranges the job, all while living a stark, unglamorous life in a remote shanty. The film lays out a tense backdrop where ambition and vendetta intertwine, and Babu’s reputation for brutal, clean executions makes him a sought-after fixer in a city used to backroom deals and betrayal.

A new assignment lands on Babu’s table: kill a local musclebound enforcer who backs the wrong horse in the political game. While scoping the target, he encounters Phulwa, a cobbler with a stubborn fire in her eyes and a will of her own. Her beauty is hard to miss, but it’s her grit and independence that truly draw him in. He makes a bold, clumsy attempt to court her, only to be met with firm dismissal. Undeterred, Babu proceeds with the hit, a move that Phulwa witnesses firsthand and could change the course of many lives. Phulwa refuses to implicate him to the authorities, choosing instead to keep her own counsel as the violence unfolds around her.

The aftermath reveals a darker motive behind Phulwa’s harsh reaction: she learns that the man who is attacked, and his brothers, had raped her. This revelation fuels her resolve, and she makes a stark demand—if Babu will kill the remaining brothers, she will be ready to offer him anything he asks. Moved, or perhaps compelled by a personal code of retribution, Babu follows through, eliminating the ones who violated her. When he returns, the mood is icy: Jiji is furious because Babu’s actions disrupt her political calculations, souring an alliance that mattered to her power play.

From this point, an unexpected intimacy blooms between Babu and Phulwa, and the two share a moment of tenderness. Their fragile bond soon collides with the brutal business Babu lives by: Dubey hires him to wipe out Jiji’s three men. Babu openly tells Jiji about the assignment, and he challenges her to shield the targets if she truly controls the ground game. The first attempt to strike is interrupted by another hitman who shares the same contract—Banke—an admirer of Babu who has his own reasons for competing. What follows is a sanctioned duel of sorts: the pair will see who can kill the most of the three targets, with the loser quitting for good. Babu takes down one target, Banke secures a second, and Babu, though wounded, is tended to by Phulwa as the plot thickens with personal stakes.

To test loyalties and desires, Babu offers both Phulwa and Banke a night together, a lure that they both refuse, choosing instead to trust their own paths. The trio—Babu, Phulwa, and Banke—then team up to eliminate the third target, Triloki, with success fueling a brief moment of celebration. But the victory is hollow; Banke reveals a hidden fourth target, and in the ensuing confrontation, an unseen danger strikes: Banke shoots Babu, sending him tumbling toward a passing train and the edge of death.

We jump forward to a hospital room where Babu awakens with long hair and a beard, as if the years have snuck past him in a single moment of coma and reinvention. He cleans up, returns to life, and learns, through a cop friend, that after Triloki’s death Jiji mobilized her entire force to track him down, killed Phulwa, and left Babu heartbroken and vengeful. He vows to avenge every traitor and begins a furious rampage against his enemies, chasing down Banke and others who crossed him. Banke, now cornered, explains that he simply carried out his contract and that Dubey had betrayed Babu by revealing his address to Jiji. The revelation intensifies Babu’s resolve: he will not rest until all enemies are dead.

Yet vengeance guides him toward a surprising turn. A final contract arrives from the Dubey camp—and Babu refuses, choosing instead to forge his own path. He hands a new address to the emissary, signaling a personal motive strong enough to take on one last job. At the address, he finds Phulwa alive, and to his shock, she is there with his own child. Banke enters, and the truth unfolds: Phulwa and Banke had fallen in love, and Phulwa herself had arranged the betrayal that led to Babu’s downfall. Enraged and betrayed, Babu confronts them in a deadly game of wits and fate. He tricks Banke into a brutal version of Russian roulette, killing him, and then turns his fury on Phulwa, choosing vengeance over mercy by ending her life as well. He takes the child, a stark reminder of what’s been lost, and promises to raise the boy away from crime.

The final act follows Babu as he tries to build a future free from the violence that shaped him. He raises the child and keeps a wary eye on the past he can’t fully escape. In a quiet, chilling moment, the boy flips through a notebook and draws a simple family scene—mother, father, child—an image that grows unsettling as the boy slowly approaches with a gun. The screen closes on a single shot and the resonant, haunting line: What goes around comes around.

Last updated: October 01, 2025 at 13:04

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Plot questions answered

Babumoshai Bandookbaaz Plot Explained: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask most about Babumoshai Bandookbaaz (2017): what happens in the confusing scenes, why the characters do what they do, the twists, hidden details and what the ending means. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Why does Babu kill the brothers who raped Phulwa?

Babu kills the rapists because Phulwa directly asks him to after he discovers what they did to her. When Babu learns the man he was hired to kill (and his brothers) had raped Phulwa, she makes a stark demand, he kill the remaining brothers, and she will give him anything he wants. Moved by her plight and perhaps his own code of retribution, Babu follows through and eliminates them.

  • phulwa
  • rape
  • brothers
  • kill
  • revenge
Q2

How did Banke Bihari become Babu's rival?

Banke enters the game when Dubey hires Babu to eliminate Jiji's three men. Since Babu works for both sides, he tells Jiji about the contract and challenges her to protect the targets. This creates a competition where both hitmen attempt the same kills. Banke is an admirer of Babu who has his own reasons for competing, and they agree to a duel: whoever kills more of the three targets wins, and the loser must quit forever.

  • banke
  • rival
  • competition
  • hitman
  • contract
Q3

Why does Banke shoot Babu at the railway?

After Babu and Banke successfully kill the third target Triloki and celebrate their victory, Banke reveals there was a hidden fourth target all along. He shoots Babu and sends him tumbling toward a passing train. This betrayal occurs because Banke had been contracted by Phulwa to kill Babu, Phulwa and Banke had fallen in love and conspired to eliminate Babu so they could be together.

  • banke
  • shoot
  • betrayal
  • railway
  • fourth target
Q4

Did Phulwa really die when Jiji attacked?

No, Phulwa did not die. Babu learns from a cop friend that Jiji burned his house and killed Phulwa, but this is revealed to be false. Phulwa is actually alive and living at a hidden address with Babu's child. The story of her death was either a ruse or Phulwa staged her own death to escape and be with Banke.

  • phulwa
  • survive
  • jiji
  • death
  • lie
Q5

Why does Phulwa betray Babu and go with Banke?

Phulwa and Banke fall in love during the course of events. While Babu is recovering from his injuries and carrying out hits, Phulwa and Banke develop a relationship. Phulwa ultimately arranges the betrayal that leads to Babu's downfall, she gives Banke the contract to kill Babu so they can be together without Babu interfering.

  • phulwa
  • banke
  • love
  • betrayal
  • affair
Q6

What triggers Babu's vengeance rampage?

After waking from a coma, Babu learns from a cop friend that Jiji burned his house and killed Phulwa. Heartbroken and vengeful, he vows to avenge every traitor and begins hunting down his enemies. He kills numerous targets, including those who crossed him, driven by grief over Phulwa's supposed death and betrayal.

  • vengeance
  • rampage
  • phulwa death
  • kill
  • anger
Q7

Why does Babu kill Phulwa at the end?

Babu discovers that Phulwa is alive and has his child, but she is there with Banke. The truth unfolds that Phulwa and Banke had fallen in love and Phulwa herself arranged the betrayal that led to Babu being shot. Enraged by this betrayal, Babu tricks Banke into a deadly game of Russian roulette and kills him, then turns on Phulwa and kills her as well, burning both on a pyre.

  • phulwa
  • kill
  • betrayal
  • pyre
  • revenge
Q8

What does the ending with the child and gun mean?

The ending suggests the cycle of violence continues. Babu kills Phulwa and Banke but keeps the child, promising to raise him away from crime. However, the final shot shows the boy drawing a family scene and then approaching Babu with a gun. The film ends with 'What goes around comes around,' implying the child will seek vengeance for his parents' deaths, continuing the endless cycle of violence.

Foreshadowing: The boy drawing a gun mirrors Babu's own life as a hitman, suggesting violence is inherited.

  • child
  • gun
  • cycle
  • violence
  • ending
Q9

Why does Babu refuse Dubey's final contract?

After his vengeance rampage, the secretary of Dubey offers Babu one more contract, but he refuses it. Instead, Babu uses this opportunity to pursue his own personal motive, he asks for an address where he discovers Phulwa alive with his child. His refusal marks a turning point where he chooses personal closure over continuing his life as a hitman.

  • dubey
  • contract
  • refuse
  • address
  • phulwa
Q10

What happens to Jiji after the brothers are killed?

Jiji is furious when Babu kills the brothers because their deaths disrupt her political alliance and calculations. After Triloki's death, Jiji mobilizes her entire force to track down Babu and burns his house. However, her ultimate fate is not explicitly shown in the film, she is only mentioned in the context of her attack on Babu's home.

  • jiji
  • political
  • alliance
  • brothers
  • power

Movie threads

More Movies Like Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Babumoshai Bandookbaaz tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Bleak crime world descent movies like Babumoshai Bandookbaaz

Stories of protagonists spiraling downwards in a brutal and unforgiving criminal underworld. If you liked the harsh criminal underworld and downward spiral in Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, explore these movies. This collection features grim thrillers and crime dramas where characters are consumed by a brutal cycle of violence, betrayal, and moral decay, culminating in bleak conclusions.

  • grim
  • brutal
  • tense
  • unsettling
  • betrayal-filled
  • cynical
  • Tone: dark, bleak, cynical
  • Pacing: fast, relentless
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Narratives in this thread typically follow a protagonist's entanglement with a ruthless crime world. Their initial control or justification erodes as alliances fracture, betrayals mount, and the violence they perpetuate ultimately consumes them, resulting in a hopeless ending that underscores the inescapable nature of their world.

Why they belong together: These movies are grouped for their shared commitment to a dark, unforgiving tone and a narrative structure centered on irreversible moral and physical collapse. They create a cohesive experience of high tension and heavy emotional weight within a brutal, cynical setting.

Movies about deadly professional rivals like in Babumoshai Bandookbaaz

When two highly skilled professionals are pitted against each other, leading to a violent showdown. For viewers who enjoyed the intense rivalry between the contract killers in Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, this list features films centered on two equally matched adversaries. Discover stories where professional competition turns into a personal, high-stakes battle for survival, filled with tension and explosive confrontations.

  • tense
  • violent
  • rivalry
  • strategic
  • confrontational
  • deadly
  • Tone: dark, tense
  • Pacing: fast, driven by conflict
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The plot centers on two skilled individuals, frequently assassins, detectives, or criminals, whose paths cross on a job or through a shared target. Their initial professional encounter sparks a personal vendetta, driving the story through a series of strategic moves and counter-moves until their conflict can only be resolved through a definitive, often tragic, clash.

Why they belong together: These films are united by the core narrative engine of a duel between equals. They share a fast pace driven by direct conflict, a tense and dark tone, and a focus on the psychological and physical stakes of a high-level rivalry, resulting in a gripping and intense viewing experience.

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Every angle

Babumoshai Bandookbaaz (2017) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

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