Thugs of Hindostan

Story:

Thugs of Hindostan is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language period action-adventure film written and directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, and produced by Aditya Chopra under his banner Yash Raj Films. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Ronit Roy, and Lloyd Owen. Set during the period of Company rule in India, the film follows a small-time thug from Awadh, Firangi Mallah, who is sent by an East India Company official to infiltrate and counter a band of thugs.

PLOT

In 1795, when the Indian subcontinent was known as Hindustan or Hindostan, King Mirza Sikander Baig is killed by John Clive. The residents of his kingdom are massacred, and the land is annexed by Lord Clive of the East India Company. The only survivors are his daughter, Zafira Baig, and general, Khudabaksh. Khudabaksh defeats the retreating enemy soldiers, and raises Zafira as his daughter, training her in the arts of warfare.

In 1806 (11 years later), Firangi Mallah is a small-time thug who fools people for money. For instance, he once gives the location of a travelling landlord to some thugs and takes money for it. Then he gives the location of the same thugs to British soldiers for money. Firangi turns into a routine informer for the company. Firangi aims to be a European himself (hence the moniker “Firangi”), and hence dresses up as one in many circumstances.

Khudabaksh, now known as Azaad, leads a band of Indian bandits known as Thugs, who specialise in sea-based warfare and expose a serious challenge to Lord Clive and the expanding East India Company which had, by then, seized control of large parts of India. Lord Clive assigns his right-hand to counter the rising threat posed by the Thugs.

Firangi goes to meet Suraiyya, a dancer and performer and flirts with her. Suraiyya challenges Firangi to confess his feelings during her performance in front of the British officers. Firangi then turns up during her performance, disguised as a Viceroy but Suraiyya removes his prosthetics in the middle of her performance, revealing his disguise. Firangi is arrested and tasked by the East India Company to meet Lord Clive’s challenge. He, with the help of his friend, manages to track Azaad at one of Azaad’s attack on a British ship. He mistakenly saves Zafira’s life by taking a bullet for her and Azaad takes him to their secret location for treatment. He appears before Azaad and asks him for recruiting him. Azaad accepts and begins to show confidence in him.

When Azaad and his men make a stop to pick up muskets from a local ruler who supports their cause, Firangi betrays them and lets the East India Company know about their location. When the forces of the East India Company surround the warehouse where they are meeting with the ruler, Azaad lets Firangi know that he knows Firangi has sold him out but he still believes that Firangi has some good in him. After a short duel, Azaad is about to fall to his death when Firangi saves him. Azaad sees that Firangi is conflicted with his feelings about working for the East India Company and asks him to help with his cause. Azaad then asks him to protect Zafira and then sacrifices himself by confronting the East India Company forces alone so that Zafira and Firangi can escape.

Firangi then goes to Clive for claiming reward and also trades the location of Azaad’s remaining thugs. However, this is a trap as Zafira and Firangi attack the incoming ships. Clive, with the help of a prisoner, Bhure Lal attacks them. The thugs survive and then Firangi and Zafira go to Suraiyya who is going to perform on the Dussehra function and asks for her help where Clive will also come so they can kill him there. Initially hesistant to help them, Suraiyya is convinced upon Zafira’s request, revealing that there is a revolution in her, too. There before the function, Clive reveals that Azaad is alive and has to be executed. Firangi betrays all the thugs to Clive. However, this is a plan to release all the prisoner thugs including Azaad who survived but was captured by East India Company soldiers.

At the final encounter with the East India Company at an abandoned fort, Zafira fights the EIC soldiers while Firangi stops Clive from boarding his ship. Zafira kills Clive, and justice is served. Azaad looks to the sky and realizes the infertile land has now borne fruit, suggesting that Firangi has now become an empathetic human capable of greatness. The next day, Zafira is crowned the queen and declares her kingdom free of EIC rule. Meanwhile, Firangi along with Suraiyya and Shanichar are shown to have run away with a ship stolen from Zafira to England.