| Director | Pawan Kumar |
|---|---|
| Genre | independent film |
| Runtime | 135 min |
| Country | India |
| Budget | ₹50 lakh |
| Box office | ₹3.1 crore |
The film follows two versions of the same man: Nikki in reality and Nikhil in dreams. It opens with the protagonist (Sathish Ninasam) in a coma, kept alive on life support. The narrative alternates between two parallel stories — one in colour and the other in black and white. Detective Sanjay of the Mumbai Crime Branch investigates the incident that led to the protagonist’s condition. While examining his belongings, he discovers cryptic notes and a mysterious pill. At the same time, police interrogate two suspects connected to the case.
In reality, Nikki works as an usher, or “torch-shiner”, at a Bengaluru cinema owned by Shankranna (Achyuth Kumar). Suffering from insomnia and loneliness, Nikki obtains Lucia pills from a drug dealer. The pills allow users to dream of the life they desire, but stopping them turns those dreams into nightmares.
After taking the pills, Nikki dreams of being Nikhil, a successful film actor surrounded by dream-world versions of people from his real life. Nikhil’s story is shown in black and white. Nikki falls in love with Shwetha (Sruthi Hariharan), who appears as a waitress in reality and a model in the dream world.
In reality, Shankranna is threatened by gangsters demanding ownership of his theatre over an old debt. Nikki struggles to win Shwetha’s affection; she initially rejects him because of his low income but later falls for his sincerity. Her efforts to improve his life fail, and Shankranna is eventually killed by the gangsters. Refusing to abandon the theatre, Nikki restores it and releases Shankranna’s long-forgotten film. He later reconciles with Shwetha, who agrees to marry him.
In the dream world, Nikhil’s relationship with Shwetha deteriorates because of her work in the film industry. After rescuing Shankranna from kidnappers, Nikhil dismisses him for his own safety, isolates himself, and begins losing his grip on reality. In a trashed room, he shines a torch on the walls and sees scenes from Nikki’s life projected around him.
As events unfold, Shwetha becomes overwhelmed by fame and finally understands Nikhil’s unhappiness. Nikhil admits he can no longer distinguish dreams from reality, but says he is content regardless. He then jumps from a rooftop, shocking everyone present, including a contract killer waiting to murder him.
Meanwhile, Sanjay traces the drug dealer and learns more about the Lucia pills. Shwetha is arrested after attempting to disconnect Nikhil’s life support. During questioning, the investigators watch an old interview in which Nikhil reveals he is colour-blind due to a childhood accident and dreams of living as an ordinary “torch-shiner” in love with a simple woman. It is also revealed that both Nikki and Nikhil suffered from insomnia and took the Lucia pills.
Sanjay concludes that Nikhil chose to remain in his dream world by attempting suicide. To awaken him, Sanjay recreates the dream’s final moments and pretends to shoot the comatose Nikhil with an empty gun. Simultaneously, dream-world Nikhil is shot in the head as his surroundings disappear. The protagonist awakens from the coma, revealing that Nikhil is the real person, while Nikki was part of his lucid dream.
In the ending scene, Nikhil, Shwetha, and Shankranna — alive in reality — happily run an old cinema together, fulfilling Nikhil’s dream of living an ordinary life.