In a secluded ashram, the community of Aghoras condemns Shankar, an amnesiac Aghora living with a crippling hapnophobia, who was dropped off as a teenager by a revered mentor, Kedar Baba. They exile him, misreading his fear as a divine curse from Lord Shiva and demanding that he atone for it. A compassionate fellow resident, Sudama, encourages him to seek a cure from Kedar Baba, who is rumored to have last been seen at the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. The journey to healing hinges on a strange, luminous key: Maalipatram, a unique bioluminescent mushroom said to hold medicinal powers. It is said to be found in a cave high in the Himalayas near Dunagiri, and it can restore Shankar only once every 36 years, with a strict 15-day deadline looming over him. To complicate matters, Jahnavi, a doctor conducting research on the mushroom, joins him, bringing a blend of scientific curiosity and hopeful empathy to the perilous trek.
Meanwhile, in a remote southern village, Durga begins to lose her duties as a Devadasi due to a terminal illness. She clings to the hope of spending her remaining days with her daughter Uma, who resents Durga for leaving her at birth. Yet Uma gradually realizes that her mother’s vow was meant to secure her birth and survival, and she warms to Durga’s love, pledging to stay by her side. Far away, in a clandestine medical facility known as CAT, CT-333—a troubled subject—faces coercive attempts at conversion therapy, while Tara, an assistant to the facility’s chief Dr. Bakshi, pushes toward electroshock treatment and a planned lobotomy, despite the dangerous side effects. The tension between care and cruelty threads through these parallel lives, setting the stage for a dramatic collision of fates.
On a separate turn of events, an inmate crashes into CT-333’s cell through the ceiling, revealing a plan to expose the facility’s illicit experiments. He seeks to escape with CT-333’s help by digging an underground tunnel, and the story intensifies as Shankar, haunted by distressing visions of CT-333 seeking help and a comforting touch, finds his resolve wavering. Jahnavi proceeds with her quest and becomes ensnared in a frozen lake, and Shankar risks everything to rescue her, discovering that Jahnavi’s mission is rooted in healing mental trauma rather than merely finding a cure. A Buddhist monk who appears along the way heals Shankar and drops a grave hint: Jahnavi may have survived where she fell, and her fate remains intertwined with the larger mystery.
Back in the village, Durga’s struggle deepens as that same chieftain schemes to designate Uma as the village’s next Devadasi, a decision that would seal her fate in a world where superstition and exploitation prevail. Durga crafts an escape plan for Uma, but illness and a bereaved family shadow their efforts; the mother’s health fails and Uma, briefly, must flee with help from a friend, only to be captured again when Durga’s sister intervienes and drags her toward the chieftain’s brutal plan. The threads tighten as CT-333’s escape attempt falters, and Bakshi orders further coercive experiments that turn grim when CT-333 endures a brutal electrical surge.
In a turning revelation, the Buddhist monk clarifies that Shankar, Jahnavi, CT-333, and Uma are bound by a shared, uncanny thread of karma. Uma’s true identity is revealed in a stark medical diagnosis: congenital adrenal hyperplasia, which has left her with a complex blend of female and male traits. The CAT agent’s intention to blunt those traits through repeated electrocution reveals the chilling human cost of experimentation. As the pieces fall into place, Shankar, remembering Durga’s uplifting words, redoubles his efforts toward the Maalipatram, eager to confront the final barrier. He faces a lion and escapes into a cave, where a sickle helps him carve a new path, and he finally consumes the Maalipatram just as the prescribed day arrives.
The narrative culminates with Shankar awakening on the lake’s edge, discovering Jahnavi alive and close enough to touch, and, in that moment, realizing he has conquered his phobia. The scene closes on a quiet, maternal-like relief as Shankar and Jahnavi share a tender moment, while the camera lingers on Uma, who holds Durga in a similarly intimate embrace, suggesting a broader reconciliation of identities, fates, and the lingering mysteries that tie these lives together.
