| Director | Samar Khan |
|---|
A group of Indian Army Soldiers cordons off a village as a part of Counter-Insurgency Operation, in the Punj Area of Pulwama Dist in Kashmir Valley. After numerous chase sequences, the shot ends with an army officer being shot by his colleague. The offending officer instead of escaping promptly surrenders and is then taken into custody by his colleagues.
In New Delhi, best friends and army lawyers Major Siddhant Chaudhary and Major Akash Kapoor display contrasting personalities, with Akash being a dedicated army lawyer and Siddhant being an immature and care-free army officer. Siddhant (fondly called "Sid"), being the son of a highly decorated army officer, often feels compelled to live up to his father's legacy and therefore he reluctantly chooses to join the army. However, he himself has no plans for an army career and is therefore on the lookout for any chance to quit the army for an adventurous life.
In the present day, Akash is getting engaged to his fiancée Nandini, with Siddhant as his best man. Akash informs Siddhant that their postings are now due, with Akash himself expecting to get posted in Srinagar. A rather excited Siddhant asks Akash to swing his posting too so that they both could be posted together. Akash, despite his misgivings, agrees to Siddhant's demands and thus makes an official request to the Army HQ, thus ensuring the same posting for Siddhant.
A week prior to departure, Siddhant becomes aware of him being appointed as a defence lawyer and Akash being appointed the prosecuting lawyer, in a murder case involving two army officers, both belonging to the elite Rashtriya Rifles. On being aware about the nature of his new posting, Siddhant, who had the hopes of a tension-free tenure, throws a childish fit, but ends up getting shut up by an annoyed Akash.
Meanwhile, a young aspiring Srinagar-based journalist Kavya Shastri, in the hopes of a big story, chances upon the murder case involving two army officers. On further research, Kavya gathers that their names were Captain. Javed Khan and Major Virendra Singh Rathore, who, when deployed for a Counter-Insurgency operation, got into an argument, which ended with Javed fatally shooting Rathore. An army inquiry deems Javed guilty of insubordination and murder and is then to be subjected to a General Court Martial after a show trial.
An enthusiastic Kavya attempts to approach Javed, to get his side of story, but her efforts fail as the army authorities flatly refuse her request. Meanwhile, both Akash and Siddhant arrive in Srinagar, post which the duo get briefed by their CO, about the case. After the briefing, Siddhant heads out to meet Javed, for a better understanding of the case.
Javed and Siddhant meet at the barracks, where Siddhant makes a poor attempt at interrogation. Javed, unimpressed with Siddhant's immaturity, refuses to acknowledge him and continues maintaining a stoic silence. Javed's behavior angers and frustrates Siddhant, who ends up leaving in a huff.
Siddhant later confides his fears and doubts about the case to Akash, who is understanding of Siddhant's dilemma. Akash advises Siddhant to just plead guilty on Javed's behalf, while he promises to take care of all the prosecution work. To cheer up Siddhant, Akash points out the absurdity of the case, terming it open and shut. According to Akash, Javed is the guilty party and the case itself is unsubstantiated, thus making prosecution a cakewalk.
Meanwhile, Kavya, on hearing about the trial, tries to reach out to Siddhant. Siddhant, on meeting Kavya, gets attracted to her and relentlessly tries to flirt with her. He even attempts to bluff his way through the case, despite not having any idea himself, just to impress her.
His efforts however miserably fail as the unimpressed Kavya calls out Siddhant and exposes his lies about the case. She further points out that as the defence lawyer it is Siddhant's responsibility to properly analyze the case and present the facts. Before leaving she further tries to make Siddhant realize the consequences of his decisions and their impact on his life. However while flirting, Siddhant accidentally mentions a senior army officer Brigadier Pratap, who happens to be Javed's and Rathore's commanding officer. Kavya gets intrigued and presses for more information but Siddhant hastily covers up, thus prompting a disappointed Kavya to leave.
After the meeting, however, Kavya heads to her office where she writes and later publishes a slanderous article about Brigadier Pratap in a local daily, naming Siddhant as the source of information. The article spreads like wildfire and ends up causing huge embarrassment to the Army, thus leading Siddhant to get hauled up by his superiors.
A furious Siddhant later confronts Kavya and accuses her of betrayal and cheap sensationalism, at the cost of his reputation. Kavya instead hits back and accuses Siddhant of negligence and immaturity. She further tells him to focus on his job rather than worrying about a silly article.
Siddhant's superiors reprimand him for his actions as Brigadier Pratap is later revealed to be a highly decorated officer with a spotless reputation. Siddhant wishes for a meeting with Brigadier Pratap so as to apologize to him in person. The authorities grant him the permission and Siddhant heads out to meet Pratap, who is deployed at a forward area near the LOC.
Siddhant, on meeting Pratap, gets intimidated. He profusely apologizes for his actions but Pratap simply brushes the incident away. Seeing Pratap's jovial mood, Siddhant tries to press Pratap for more information regarding the Rathore murder case, but a dismissive Pratap coldly rebuffs him. Siddhant then tries to get access to the scene of the crime and to his relief Pratap accepts his request. Siddhant analyzes the scene of the crime and suspects something amiss.