In 1936, Haribabu and Sitadevi meet at the Madras Cultural Club in the Madras Presidency on Sitadevi's birthday and discover they are fellow students at the University of Madras. Sitadevi is the princess of the Rachakonda estate, while Haribabu comes from a lower caste and is the grandson of a local barber. As their studies come to a close, their bond deepens into love, and they return to their native town, Devarakonda, where Haribabu is introduced to Sitadevi's brother, Eeswar, and the two men strike up a wary friendship.
Eeswar, and his grandfather Pedababu, learn of the affair and provoke a violent clash between the communities. The conflict leaves hundreds dead, and a fence, known as the Kanche, is erected to permanently separate the two sides. In the aftermath, Eeswar and Pedababu pressure Sitadevi into a marriage arranged with a chosen suitor, while Haribabu returns from town and is stabbed. On the wedding day, a frustrated Haribabu marries Sitadevi in the presence of Sitadevi's grandmother, Mahalakshmamma, and then departs. That evening, a duel between Eeswar and Haribabu ends with Sitadevi’s accidental death.
Years later, in the shadow of World War II, the British Raj mobilizes more than two and a half million Indian volunteer soldiers to fight under British command against the Axis powers. Haribabu rises to the rank of captain, while Eeswar has advanced to a colonel and serves as his commanding officer. In May 1944, Nazi forces strike the Indian army during the Italian Campaign and capture them. Haribabu, his comrade Daasu, and three other soldiers manage to escape. They vow to rescue the captured troops and trace the Nazis’ path, taking shelter in the home of an Italian baker and his granddaughter, who helps them survive. She reveals that the Nazis intend to kill a little girl whose parents were a German doctor and a Jew.
The group tracks the civilians to safety as the soldiers locate the captured troops in an old building and free them. They find a German base near a river that could serve as their escape route. Haribabu devises a daring plan, but Eeswar, who still harbors old resentments, argues that the plan is flawed. Haribabu reminds him that World War II began because of racism, and he does not want to repeat the bloodshed that had plagued their village. The soldiers launch a raid on the tents, and a boat session becomes their escape. Haribabu fights on to divert the German army’s attention, taking a grievous wound but continuing until the boat reaches safety. He dies with a smile, thinking of the life he shared with Sitadevi.
When Eeswar returns to their village with Haribabu’s body, he reads the letters Haribabu had written to Sitadevi during the war and realizes that people should not be divided by caste. He asks Haribabu’s grandfather to dig the grave, and, in a quiet moment of reconciliation, Eeswar salutes his fallen friend—described as a great human, soldier, lover, son, and friend. In a final act of healing, Pedababu orders the fence’s removal, and the people choose to live in peace once more, carrying forward the memory of Haribabu and Sitadevi’s love beyond the boundaries that once separated them.
