1996: Shahul Hassan Prasanna is transferred to a fictional crime-infested town called Kotha, situated near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. He learns that the town’s teenagers are soaked in narcotics, and as he digs into the narcotics background, he uncovers a name that keeps resurfacing: Kannan Bhai Shabeer Kallarakkal. Kannan rules the town with a cruel grip, and Shahul’s pursuit leads him to a casino where he, along with SI Tony Titus, is humiliated and beaten by Kannan and his men, the K-TEAM. The brutal encounter leaves Shahul humiliated but resolved, and it triggers a deeper inquiry into the fate of a man named Raju Dulquer Salmaan whom Kannan had previously mentioned. Tony reluctantly opens up, revealing Raju’s shadowy past and hinting at a history that could shake Kotha to its core.
1986: Raju Dulquer Salmaan is introduced as a notorious and arrogant gangster, and Kannan’s childhood friend who once ruled Kotha as its dictator. Despite his violent reputation, Raju is beloved by the town’s people, who treat him as something of a larger-than-life figure. Tony and Kannan stand with Raju as part of his gang and the football team known as “Winners Kotha.” Raju’s relationship with his neighbors is complicated, especially with Ranjith Bhai (the head of the neighboring Gandhigram), though Ranjith never harms him out of respect for Raju’s father, Kotha Ravi Shammi Thilakan, a former gangster who once shaped the town’s power. Raju meets Tara Aishwarya Lekshmi and falls in love, while Kannan, hungry for more leverage, tries to rope Raju and his crew into trafficking narcotics. Raju refuses because Tara’s brother died after a drug overdose, and this refusal weighs on him as his parents drift away, with his mother Malathi Shanthi Krishna harboring a deep resentment toward him.
One day, Ranjith sends photos of Tara socializing with a Bombay-based journalist named Nikhil Rahul Madhav, leading a heartbroken Raju to end things with Tara and drown his sorrow in alcohol. Blinded by the lure of wealth and power, Kannan allies with Ranjith and agrees to smuggle cannabis into Kotha. When Raju uncovers the plot, he confronts Kannan, who refuses to divulge anything about the narcotics trade, sparking a brutal fight that leaves Kannan with a damaged right eye. Days later, Malathi warns her son that his days may be numbered due to his escalating alcoholism and gangster life, urging him to leave Kotha for good. Raju takes her advice to heart, leaving the town on the night of the FIFA World Cup Finals and subsequently disappearing.
1996: Shahul Hassan [Prasanna] directs Tony to probe Raju’s whereabouts with the UP Police. Tony receives a fax from Lucknow indicating that Raju is a retired assassin known as “Raju Madrassi” Dulquer Salmaan. Shahul sends a telegram to Raju warning that his sister Rithu Anikha Surendran is in danger. In the meantime, Jinu, the drug-addicted brother-in-law of Kannan, is in love with Rithu, and after a tense encounter in a restaurant, Tony arrives to arrest Jinu for carrying cannabis. Rithu cuts ties with Jinu, and when Jinu returns to talk at Rithu’s house, Ravi (Raju’s ally) ejects him. The next day, Jinu attempts to fatally harm Rithu by dousing her with gasoline, but Tara’s rescue saves her just as Tony intervenes.
Jinu is brutally killed by Raju Dulquer Salmaan upon his return to Kotha, a revelation that shatters Jinu’s sister, Manju Manju Vani, who vows to avenge him. It’s revealed that Kannan killed Ranjith in order to marry Manju, further complicating the town’s web of loyalties. That night, Kannan confronts Raju in a bar and discovers that Raju has grown far deadlier since his return to the UP, while Manju dispatches her own enforcers to kill Raju. Raju overpowers them and shatters their resistance, leaving Manju to witness his renewed ferocity. The next day, Shahul offers Raju a chance to kill Kannan, but Raju refuses, arguing that Kannan remains his best friend. In response, Kannan sends a contract killer named Suitcase Leslie to eliminate Raju, but Raju defeats Leslie and sends his remains back to Kannan. Enraged, Kannan arrives in the market with his men to confront Raju, only to be met by Raju’s onslaught, including the death of Kannan’s right-hand man Erilan.
Raju’s retaliatory campaign continues as he avenges the death of his friend Rafi Sudhi Koppa and seals the fate of Kannan’s inner circle. He propositions Peelan to switch sides, offering the entire town if Peelan will kill Kannan. Peelan accepts, and Raju infiltrates Kannan’s casino to face the antagonist head-on. When the dust settles, Raju defeats the hired guns and finally confronts Kannan, choosing not to kill him outright because he still regards him as a former best friend. Instead, he brings Ranjith’s son, Sonu, to execute Kannan. It’s revealed that Ranjith’s men had helped Raju escape Kannan’s hiding place earlier, and Sonu shoots Kannan, handing the gun to Raju who then kills Peelan, declaring that Kotha no longer needs a dictator.
1998: Raju [Dulquer Salmaan] is living contentedly with Tara Aishwarya Lekshmi and Rithu Anikha Surendran in Shimla when a call arrives from his arch-nemesis Dev Gujjar, sent by Manju to finish him off. The message pulls Raju back into a life that refuses to stay buried, hinting at a cycle of conflict that could resume at any moment.
