Naxal

Naxal

Year: 2015

Runtime: 109 mins

Language: Bengali, Bangla

Director: Debaditya Bandyopadhyay

History

In 1971, a man escaped and vanished. Now, after nearly 42 years, a FAX arrives at the Kolkata Metro Railways Headquarters announcing that Anirban will commit suicide under the last Metro. Questions about his identity and demands quickly surface, dominating the city's news and shaking the Kolkata Police Headquarters. As Anirban sends further FAX messages, the administration struggles to understand his motives and the meaning behind his reappearance.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen Naxal yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – Naxal (2015)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Naxal (2015). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1971, 2013

The story moves between 1971, during the Naxalite uprising when Anirban and Sankar Da vanish, and 2013, when a fax triggers a city-wide crisis around Anirban’s planned suicide. A 42-year gap anchors a meditation on memory, revenge, and the power of media. The two timelines frame a clash between past loyalties and present ambitions in Kolkata.

Location

Kolkata, Maidan metro station, Kolkata Police Headquarters (Lalbazar)

Set in Kolkata, the film threads through crowded streets, political corridors, and iconic landmarks. It traces a media-saturated cityscape as a 2013 crisis unfolds. Key locations include the Kolkata Police Headquarters (Lalbazar), the Kolkata Metro system, and the Maidan, which provide the stages for confrontation and revelation.

🏙️ Urban city 🕰️ Historical politics 🚇 Metro setting

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 07:49

Main Characters – Naxal (2015)

Meet the key characters of Naxal (2015), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Anirban Sen (Mithun Chakraborty)

A fervent Naxalite leader who vanishes after the 1971 escape. In 2013, he resurfaces through a chilling sequence of FAX messages, challenging Kolkata to confront its past. He is relentless, calculating, and fiercely loyal to his fallen comrades, with a burning drive for justice and revenge.

🗡️ Vengeful 🧭 Idealistic 🕶️ Steadfast

Sankar Da (Shankar Chakraborty)

The Naxalite group’s leader who survives in Kolkata under a new name. The narrative later reveals him to be Siddhartha Chowdhury, the very media CEO, intertwining his past with his present power and showing how identity can be weaponized.

🏹 Strategic 🕵️ Cunning 💥 Risk-taker

Shiddhartha Chowdhury (Dhritiman Chatterjee)

CEO of the top Bengali news channel, he uses media influence to boost TRP and crush rivals. He treats truth as a tool for control and engages in ruthless moves to silence threats, including Anirban. His manipulation sets off a collision with the film’s vigilante past.

🎭 Media Mogul 💼 Power & Control 🧪 Manipulation

Reena Sen (Gargee RoyChowdhury)

A supporting character tied to Anirban’s past and the city’s upheaval. Her presence adds emotional stakes to the pursuit of truth, linking the 1971 events with the present-day crisis.

🌉 Memory Link 🧭 Moral Compass 🔎 Witness

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 07:49

Major Themes – Naxal (2015)

Explore the central themes of Naxal (2015), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🗡️ Revenge

Anirban’s return is driven by the deaths of his friends and a deep need to settle scores. The plot tracks his patient, calculated pursuit of justice against those who wronged his circle. Revenge drives the tension, culminating in the old guard facing consequences after decades.

📺 Media & Power

The media landscape is weaponized to manipulate public perception and TRP. Siddhartha Chowdhury’s channel becomes a battleground where truth is stretched and sensationalism dominates. The live telecast and strategic reporting reveal how information can be used to control narratives and outcomes.

🧭 Identity & Truth

The story blurs lines between past identities and present masks. Sankar Da’s survival under a new name is revealed to be Siddhartha Chowdhury, linking political violence to media power. The film probes how characters conceal, reveal, and redefine who they are under pressure.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 07:49

Mobile App Preview

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Mobile App

From blockbusters to hidden gems — dive into movie stories anytime, anywhere. Save your favorites, discover plots faster, and never miss a twist again.

Sign up to be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private — always.

Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Political suspense thrillers with a heavy conscience like Naxal

High-stakes thrillers where personal justice collides with systemic corruption.For viewers who liked the tense, morally complex political thriller Naxal, this list features movies with similar high-stakes investigations into historical injustice and corruption. These films share a gripping, urgent pace and a heavy emotional weight, often culminating in bittersweet resolutions.

tensegrippingurgentreflectivesuspensefulmelancholicpolitical

Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread typically follow a protagonist (or an antagonist-turned-avenger) uncovering a long-buried political crime. The narrative is a steady, methodical cat-and-mouse game, building suspense through media exposure, official resistance, and the looming threat of public revelation, leading to a confrontation that offers justice but rarely true victory.

Why These Movies?

These movies are grouped together because they share a core DNA of exploring historical trauma through the lens of a tense, present-day thriller. They blend high intensity with a heavy emotional weight, creating a gripping and reflective experience centered on themes of social justice and the personal cost of truth.

Identity mystery dramas with a slow reveal like Naxal

Character-driven dramas where a hidden past violently resurfaces.If you were captivated by the slow-burn mystery of Anirban's identity in Naxal, explore these films where a character's hidden past is central to the plot. These stories feature a steady pacing, moderate complexity, and a heavy emotional focus on trauma and personal revelation.

suspensefulmelancholicreflectiveoppressivegrippingpsychologicaltragic

Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves a character living under an assumed identity, haunted by a repressed past. A triggering event forces this history to the surface, methodically peeling back layers through clues and confrontations. The journey is one of inescapable reckoning, where the revealed identity dictates a tragic or bittersweet fate.

Why These Movies?

These films are connected by their core focus on a character's identity crisis as the primary engine of suspense and drama. They share a steady, deliberate pacing that allows the mystery to unfold with maximum impact, coupled with a heavy, melancholic mood and a tone of inevitable tragedy.

Unlock the Full Story of Naxal

Don't stop at just watching — explore Naxal in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Naxal is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Naxal Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Naxal, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Naxal Summary

Naxal Timeline

Track the full timeline of Naxal with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Naxal Timeline

Naxal Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Naxal that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Naxal Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Naxal

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Naxal: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Naxal