| Director | Mahesh Manjrekar |
|---|---|
| Genre | action film, drama film, thriller film |
| Runtime | 145 min |
| Country | India |
Raghunath Namdev Shivalkar, alias "Raghu", and his best friend "Dedh Footiya" struggle to find employment in Mumbai. Raghu lives in a chawl with his father Namdev, a former mill worker, his mother Shanta, and his unemployed graduate brother Vijay. Showing no interest in academics, Raghu and Dedh Footiya open a pav bhaji stall. The business succeeds until the brother of a local gangster, Fracture Bandya, frequently visits the stall in a drunken state and violently assaults Dedh Footiya. Pushed to their limit, Raghu and Dedh Footiya retaliate and accidentally kill him.
Now fugitives, the duo seeks the assistance of their childhood friend, Sub-Inspector Kishore Kadam, who connects them with Vitthal Kaanya, a rival gang lord willing to offer protection. Fracture Bandya attempts to trap and murder them through a treacherous meeting arranged by a middleman named Suleiman Bhai. However, Raghu and Dedh Footiya intercept the plot and eliminate Fracture Bandya instead, formally embedding themselves in the Mumbai underworld.
Raghu quickly rises to become a feared hitman under Vitthal Kaanya, with Dedh Footiya serving as his primary accomplice. Their efficiency helps Kaanya dominate the city's criminal empire. Recognizing Raghu's lethal utility, Home Minister Babban Rao Kadam bypasses the gang hierarchy and recruits him directly for high-level political assassinations. Raghu accepts, ignoring the warnings of Kishore, who nevertheless continues to leak police intelligence to keep his friend alive.
The turf war intensifies when the remaining members of the Fracture gang assassinate Vitthal Kaanya. They launch a follow-up hit on Raghu during Dedh Footiya's father's funeral, missing Raghu but severely injuring his father. In a calculated counter-strike, Raghu tortures a corrupt officer, Inspector Rane, to learn that the Fracture gang is traveling to Shirdi. After executing Rane, Raghu and Dedh Footiya ambush the rival gang on a bridge, slaughtering them entirely and cementing Raghu as the city's undisputed underworld kingpin.
Despite his dominance, Raghu's position becomes precarious. Kishore repeatedly warns the duo that Babban Rao will dispose of them once their political utility expires. The dynamic shifts when Babban Rao orders Dedh Footiya to assassinate an innocent Muslim man, sparking deadly communal riots. Shortly after, during a forced land-acquisition dispute, an enraged Raghu murders an unyielding Parsi landowner, Parvez, who threatened to expose the operation. The public and political fallout forces Babban Rao's hand; to sever his ties to the underworld, the minister issues a direct "shoot-at-sight" warrant for the duo.
The police successfully ambush and kill Dedh Footiya in an encounter designed to bait Raghu. Alerted by Kishore that a permanent hit order is out on him, a paranoid Raghu goes into hiding. Realizing his wife Sonia and his parents are prime targets for both the police and Babban Rao's fixers, Raghu orchestrates a final meeting with the minister via Suleiman Bhai. Raghu assassinates Babban Rao to stop him from destroying more lives, though Suleiman Bhai is killed in the crossfire.
Hunted, cut off, and suffering a severe mental breakdown marked by violent hallucinations, a broken Raghu slips back into his family's chawl. He begs his mother to save him from the approaching police, handing her his weapon and gold chains. Recalling a past moment when Raghu had playfully taught her how to handle a firearm, Shanta takes the gun, points it at her suffering son, and pulls the trigger to grant him mercy. The story concludes on a Mumbai beach during Raghu's annual funeral rites, where Shanta recounts the cautionary tale to her young grandson, Rohit, praying for the absolution of Raghu's sins.