Balusamy Arya, a steadfast communist leader, is tried in Delhi on charges of robbery, murder, and treason and sentenced to death. The court rejects a firing squad and instead orders that he be hanged within a month by a professional hangman. He is escorted to a high-security prison in Chennai by Macaulay [Shaam], an upright police officer who must oversee the convict’s fate and keep everything calm inside the facility. The prison floor plan becomes a strange stage where freedom and control coexist: inmates are allowed to do almost anything so long as they don’t spark unrest, a paradox that instantly makes Balusamy a beacon for the imprisoned with his fierce patriotism, his thoughtful philosophy, and his palpable empathy for those around him. To the inmates, he becomes a de facto spokesperson, someone they can rally behind as they watch the system operate.
Meanwhile, Macaulay embarks on a desperate hunt for a hangman and learns about Yemalingam [Vijay Sethupathi], an executioner who has carried the burden of blood since his teens, haunted by the memory of hanging an innocent man. The officer persuades Yemalingam to take on the duty, arguing that Balusamy is a convict whose execution is a state matter. Yemalingam agrees, but only after a long persuasion, and he is given a special phone tuned to a fixed frequency so Macaulay can reach him discreetly whenever the moment arrives.
On the other side of the plan, Kuyili [Karthika Nair], Balusamy’s trusted comrade, mobilizes a group of computer hackers to breach the prison’s surveillance network. Kuyili befriends Yemalingam and uses him as a conduit to relay their escape plan to Balusamy. She explains that Balusamy was once a North Indian communist who aimed to prevent India from becoming a landfill, and to justify his methods, he resorted to violence and even attempted a suicide bombing against the Indian Army. Kuyili insists that her own reluctance to kill him and her burden of guilt over an innocent person’s execution are what drew them together as allies.
Yemalingam grows impressed by Balusamy’s steadfast convictions and decides he cannot let the execution go forward. He requests a personal meeting with Balusamy, and Macaulay agrees to arrange it. Together, they put a test to the plan: Yamalingam fabricates a life-size mannequin modeled after Balusamy to test the rope’s strength, while Balusamy sketches the escape route in a note that he passes to Yemalingam through the improvised channel. In a risky move, Balusamy attempts an escape with the help of two inmates, swapping places with a distant South African convict; however, he surrenders when he witnesses the real convict being beaten by the police.
Macaulay and the authorities treat Balusamy roughly, locking him in a more secure cell. Kuyili goes further, disguising herself as Balusamy’s fiancée and visiting him in prison to pass along the escape plan in Sanskrit, then coordinating with Yemalingam to carry the plan into the execution chamber. Macaulay, ever calculating, learns that Yemalingam has been in touch with Kuyili and decides to neutralize the threat after Balusamy’s fate is sealed. He stages a dramatic press conference with government officials and sets an official date for the execution, only to move that timetable forward by detaining the officials, including Yemalingam, and confiscating their phones so that Balusamy’s execution can proceed a day earlier than publicly announced.
Before the final moment, Macaulay tells Balusamy that no one will come to save him, and he asks whether Balusamy will die as a martyr for his beliefs. Balusamy answers with resolve, confident in his cause and his convictions. When the moment arrives, Balusamy delivers a searing, albeit simple, speech about India’s right to its land and his demand that foreign powers stop exploiting it. Yemalingam watches, conflicted, and, with a last pivotal glance, signals a possible escape—only to have the plan unravel when Kuyili hasn’t been fully informed of the executed timing. Balusamy’s body is retrieved, cremated by Macaulay and the police, and Yemalingam’s sense of guilt collapses his composure; he clutches the test mannequin and treats it as if Balusamy himself, a haunting reminder of the price of mercy and duty.
Kuyili, shaken by the deception and the cost, leaves India with her comrades on a boat, severing ties with the country she fought to change. Years pass, and Yemalingam—now a psychologically troubled beggar—speaks softly to the Balusamy mannequin on a lonely railway track, reflecting aloud on the enduring impact of Balusamy’s ideology and the way his words continue to echo through those who heard him. The film closes on this quiet, pensive note, leaving viewers to ponder the cost of steadfast ideals and the fragile line between martyrdom and manipulation.
