L2: Empuraan

In 2002, Gujarat is torn apart by communal riots after the Godhra train burning, forcing a young Zayed Masood, Prithviraj Sukumaran, and his family to seek refuge with Subhadra Ben, Nikhat Khan, a kind-hearted matriarch who leads a vast royal household. She consoles them with a hard truth about politics and promises safety under her umbrella as she entrusts their protection to her nephew Munna, Sukant Goel. But Munna harbors a deep-seated hatred for Muslims and soon whispers the fear and rage into the ear of his elder brother, Balraj Patel, Abhimanyu Singh, a Hindu extremist leader who channels that fury into a brutal mob. Balraj’s forces descend with a purpose: they massacre Zayed’s family, killing his father Masood and his mother Bahija Begum, and the betrayal is sealed when Subhadra Ben is slain by Balraj for “betraying” her community. Gripped by devastation, Zayed escapes with his younger brother Zaheer, Oziel Jivani, only to learn later that Zaheer did not survive the flight.

Six years later, Kerala’s political stage has shifted dramatically. Jathin Ramdas, Tovino Thomas, sits as Chief Minister, but his ascent has left him corrupted and teetering under investigations by multiple intelligence agencies for money, power, and influence. His sister Priyadarshini Ramdas, Manju Warrier, watches the family’s fortunes tilt with growing alarm as internal rifts threaten the future of the Indian Union Front (IUF). A rival force, the right-wing Akhanda Shakthi Morcha (ASM), rises with Balraj, now masquerading as Baba Bajrangi, Abhimanyu Singh, at the helm. This political chessboard is carefully manipulated to provoke communalism in Kerala, a move that Balraj/Bajrangi believes will consolidate wealth, power, and control.

Meanwhile, Govardhan, Indrajith Sukumaran, pursues a tangled trail that leads him to Daniel Rawther, a friend of Stephen Nedumpally, Mohanlal, who has vanished from politics after Jathin’s rise. Across the Atlantic, the UK’s MI6 chief Boris Oliver, Jerome Flynn, keeps a wary eye on the Khureshi-Ab’raam nexus. Interpol, too, taps Robert McCarthy, Alexx O’Nell, whose covert ties thread through Kabuga, Ériq Ebouaney, a feared African crime lord, while Sergei Leonov, Mike Novikov, a former associate of Ab’raam, helps steer the trafficking routes from Senegal to Guinea. Khureshi, a principled adversary of drug smuggling, systematically thwarts these schemes and, with Kabuga’s cartel in sight, eliminates both McCarthy and Leonov before arranging a clandestine meeting with Kabuga at Qaraqosh. Michele Menuhin, Andrea Tivadar, the British intelligence asset and Robert’s girlfriend, is assigned to track Ab’raam, though Boris has an insider’s view of the larger web and leaks information to Khureshi.

Back in India, Govardhan’s investigations eventually pull him toward Daniel Rawther, who drugs and ships him to New York, where Stephen has been living under the alias Khureshi Ab’raam. Stephen asserts that he will return to India with a plan to dismantle Kabuga’s syndicate with Khureshi’s help, even as he fakes his own death with Govardhan’s aid and the support of the NPTV channel, plunging Kerala’s political landscape into further uncertainty. It turns out Stephen had quietly aided the agencies earlier, with Robert McCarthy serving as a double agent for the Kabuga cartel.

Priya Rathod—renamed here as Priyadarshini Ramdas—takes a stand against a controversial Nedumpally check dam, and during a protest she is attacked by Balraj’s agents. Stephen finds her and persuades her to step forward as IUF’s new Chief Ministerial candidate. Priya’s ascent triggers a high-stakes sequence at the party headquarters, PKR Bhavan, where a non-bailable arrest warrant for money laundering targets her. Priya refuses to bow to the pressures, and the public response—support from across the spectrum—surges in her favor. In a parallel thread, Jathin’s fate takes a dark turn as he is kidnapped by Khureshi’s mercenaries and later rescued only after Priya’s charges are cleared—charges that were rooted in Jathin’s past as IUF president.

A revelatory flashback reveals the origin of Zayed’s longing for revenge: he was captured by Lashkar-e-Taiba as a child, only to be saved and mentored by Khureshi, who promised to help him avenge his family. Upon Priya’s release, a united front—Stephen and Zayed—prepares for a final showdown against Balraj and Munna at the very massacre site that started Zayed’s odyssey. Their confrontation ends with Balraj and Munna’s deaths and Zayed’s long-awaited vengeance finally realized. In the aftermath, Priyadarshini launches her campaign anew, while Khureshi presses Jathin to either back Priya or die; Jathin agrees to support her, sealing a fragile alliance.

Yet the power balance remains perilous. A call from Shenlong Shen, the formidable head of the Afro-Asian Shen Triad aligned with Kabuga, reaches Khureshi as Boris is captured and killed in revenge for Kabuga’s death. The tension sharpens when a helicopter-bound Jathin is intercepted by a deadly bomb planted by Shenlong, ending his ascent in a single, startling strike. As the credits creep forward, Shenlong Shen expresses a keen interest in meeting Khureshi, signaling a broader conflict on the horizon. A post-credits thread traces the investigation into Stephen’s past, revealing a much younger Stephen in 1981 Bombay and setting the stage for a potential third chapter that deepens the mystery of Khureshi Ab’raam.

This sweeping saga threads together personal tragedy and political scheming across continents, balancing intimate moments—refuge, loss, and revenge—with a sprawling conspiracy about power, loyalty, and the price of ambition. It moves between past and present to show how a single act of radicalization can ripple through families, parties, and nations, ultimately asking: who is truly in control when every move is a tactic, every ally a potential betrayer, and every victory shadowed by the cost of justice?

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 12:51