| Director | S. S. Rajamouli |
|---|---|
| Budget | ₹550 crore |
| Box office | ₹1,300 crore |
In 1920, during the British Raj, the tyrannical Governor Scott Buxton and his cruel wife, Catherine, visit a forest in Adilabad. There, they encounter Malli, an artistically gifted young girl from the Gond tribe, who sings folk songs while applying intricate Mehndi artwork to Catherine's hand. Fascinated by her talent, Catherine abducts Malli and takes her back to Delhi. Enraged by the injustice, the tribe's guardian, Komaram Bheem, travels to Delhi to rescue her, embedding himself in the city under the Muslim pseudonym "Akhtar." The Nizamate of Hyderabad alerts Buxton's office that a dangerous Gond guardian intends to reclaim the child. Undeterred, Catherine enlists Alluri Sitarama "Ram" Raju, an exceptionally ambitious and highly skilled Indian Imperial Police officer, to neutralize the threat. She promises a major promotion if he captures Bheem alive, or a hefty bounty otherwise.
Ram and his uncle, Venkateswarulu, attend a pro-independence gathering in disguise to locate the tribal leader. There, Bheem's close aide, Lachhu, attempts to recruit them into their anti-colonial cell. However, on the way to their hideout, Lachhu uncovers Ram's true identity as a police officer and flees. Shortly afterward, Ram and Bheem independently witness a young boy trapped beneath a burning train wreck. Working in perfect, unspoken synchronization, the two men execute a daring rescue. Unaware of their fiercely opposing allegiances, they develop a profound, brotherly friendship.
With Ram's assistance, Bheem courts Jenny, a compassionate Englishwoman who happens to be Governor Buxton's niece. Following a formal party where Ram and Bheem brilliantly out-dance the elitist British attendees, Jenny invites Bheem to her uncle's fortified residence. Inside, Bheem locates Malli by her singing and promises to liberate her soon. Meanwhile, Ram tracks down and apprehends Lachhu. During a brutal interrogation, Lachhu deliberately unleashes a highly venomous banded krait onto Ram. As he flees, Lachhu warns the officer that his death is imminent, as the British possess no antidote for the venom, which is known only to the Gond people. Bheem discovers a dying Ram and utilizes his tribal knowledge to successfully neutralize the poison. Deeply moved by Ram's vulnerability, Bheem confesses his true identity and his mission to rescue Malli, completely unaware that his best friend is the very officer hunting him.
That evening, a grand gala is held to honor Governor Buxton. Bheem and his revolutionaries breach the palace gates by driving a truck loaded with wild animals—including tigers, leopards, and bears—directly into the courtyard, unleashing chaos upon the British forces. As Bheem attempts to extract Malli, Ram intercepts him. A brutal duel ensues between the two friends. Bheem is ultimately forced to surrender when Governor Buxton holds a targeted gun to Malli's head. Bheem is arrested, and a conflicted Ram receives his long-sought promotion.
A flashback reveals that Ram's father, Alluri Venkatarama Raju, was a revered revolutionary leader who sacrificed his life hoping to arm his entire village with British military rifles. Before dying, Venkatarama made Ram promise to fulfill this dream. Ram subsequently left his village and his fiancée, Sita, to infiltrate the colonial police force as a deep-cover mole. His promotion for capturing Bheem finally grants him the high-level clearance required to access and distribute imperial gun shipments. At Bheem's public flogging, Ram privately urges him to recant his actions to save his life, but Bheem resolutely chooses the punishment. Bleeding heavily, Bheem sings a defiant anthem of freedom, inciting the assembled Indian crowd into open rebellion. The display profoundly enlightens Ram, who realizes that Bheem's raw courage inspires the populace in a way that mere weaponry never could. Resolving to save his friend, Ram convinces Buxton to execute Bheem quietly in a secluded area while secretly orchestrating an ambush. Buxton uncovers the betrayal, and Ram is severely wounded during the rescue. Bheem, misinterpreting Ram's actions as a violent attempt to harm Malli, bludgeons his friend and escapes into the wilderness with the girl. Ram is arrested for high treason and cast into solitary confinement.
Months later, Bheem, Malli, and their comrades evade authorities in Hathras. They are cornered by colonial soldiers, but Sita, who has traveled to the area to upon learning about Ram's impending execution, saves them by cleverly fabricating a smallpox outbreak, forcing the British troops to retreat. Unaware of Bheem's identity, Sita reveals Ram's lifelong anti-colonial crusade. Devastated by his catastrophic misunderstanding, Bheem vows to rescue Ram.
With strategic logistical assistance from Jenny, Bheem successfully infiltrates the heavy barracks where Ram is detained and breaks him out of solitary confinement. Retreating into a nearby forest, the duo mounts a fierce defense against pursuing regiments. Ram uses a longbow retrieved from an ancestral Rama shrine alongside Bheem's spear, decimating the colonial forces. Taking the fight directly back to the British stronghold, they hurl a flaming motorcycle into the barracks' primary ammunition magazines, triggering a catastrophic chain reaction. Bheem seizes a massive cache of rifles for Ram just before the entire facility explodes, killing Catherine and the surrounding garrison. Cornering a wounded Governor Buxton, Ram provides Bheem with an imperial rifle. Commenting on how the tyrant valued bullets over human life, Bheem shoots Baxton to death as a symbolic vengeance.
In the aftermath, Ram joyously reunites with Sita, while Bheem and Malli return safely to their tribe in Adilabad, reuniting Malli with her mother. Ram asks Bheem how he could ever repay him for his immense sacrifice. Bheem requests that Ram teach him how to read and write. The film concludes as Ram uses a canvas and blood to teach Bheem his first letters.