Last Bus

Prithvi leaves the trekking path and hopes to return home to Bangalore via Theerthalli, boarding a bus that will take him toward Hansa. The bus fills with a mix of strangers, all unaware of the ordeal ahead. The landscape rolls by as the group begins to form an uneasy community.

A sobbing Mamtha boards the bus, hoping to reach a court where custody of her daughter will be decided. She explains her situation calmly, while the others settle in for the ride. Her presence hints at personal stakes that will haunt the journey.

Rita climbs aboard next, fleeing home to meet her boyfriend and run away to Mumbai against her family's wishes. The tension on the bus grows as each new passenger reveals a different motive. Her urgency adds another layer to the trip.

Seetha, a local woman, becomes part of the motley group as the driver, Tanka, glances at her with mixed interest. She hints that her affections are not easily reciprocated. The exchange adds a personal edge to the otherwise routine ride.

Sudhakara joins the ride to reach Chikkmangalore for an exam the next day. His practical goal contrasts with the others' personal stakes, while the forest path looms ahead.

At a roadside forest stop, a clean-shaven Hindu priest named Sahasra Sagara boards the bus and reprimands the driver for lateness. He prays in Malayalam as the journey continues. His arrival injects a mystic, cautionary note into the voyage.

Three local hunters hop on the bus and share warnings about the dense forest ahead. They describe strange events and say travel in daylight is risky, especially at night. Their talk deepens the sense of danger surrounding the scenic ride.

A huge tree crashes onto the road, blocking the bus and prompting a debate about superstition versus practicality. The group views it as a bad omen, and some want to turn back while others press on. Prithvi chooses to continue via an alternate route, hoping to reach their destinations.

Tanka ultimately agrees to take the alternate rough forest road after Seetha pleads for Mamtha's sake; Sahasra reluctantly consents, fearing the road's peril. The plan is to press onward despite warnings that the path is haunted. The group commits to the new route as tension rises.

The driver loses control and the bus bangs into a tree, leaving passengers terrified and separated. They hear Tanka's scream and realize he is missing. Following the commotion, the group reaches a dilapidated mansion in the forest.

Inside the mansion, Tanka is found tied to a pillar with dry creepers and is unconscious. The group frees him, and he reveals he has no idea how he ended up there or why he cried for help. His rescue raises the question of what else lurks in the house.

On the road, a white-bearded man exits the bus and menacingly displays a dagger to Mamtha and Sudhakara, heightening the fear. It becomes clear that a TV crew led by Sandy has orchestrated traps to film the passengers as part of a reality show. The bearded man appears to be part of the crew, hinting at a staged nightmare.

Back at the recording tent, Mallika is possessed and disrupts the crew, clicking a mouse that triggers a massive blast and destroys equipment. The moment reveals the crew's exploitative motives and their lack of concern for the passengers. The tent goes up in flames as dawn approaches.

As daylight arrives, the doors open and the group crawls out, exhausted and traumatized. Prithvi claims that he has destroyed the faith in old beliefs, while Sandy and Geeta recover on a riverbank nearby. Tanka survives the night and the group begins to move toward safety.

In a flashback set 100 years earlier, Maayi is shown as a child-married laborer whose life is brutalized within her household. A vulture later abducts her daughter Mallava, and her family torments and murders her. The spirit of Maayi rises from the trauma, foreshadowing the haunting that pursues the living in the present.