Awarapan 2007

Shivam Pandit is introduced as a heartbroken, introverted atheist, a capable gangster, and the trusted right-hand man of Bharat Daulat Malik, a powerful criminal who runs a chain of hotels in Hong Kong. Shivam handles one hotel with a quiet efficiency that outshines Malik’s other properties, earning Malik’s deep respect and affection as if Shivam were his adopted son. That devotion creates resentment in Raja D. Malik, Malik’s brother who harbors a grudge against Shivam, though he rarely dares to act on it while Malik openly champions Shivam.

Shivam’s closest ally is his childhood friend, Kabir, who stands by him through every twist of their dangerous world. But the Malik family dynamic is strained by rivalry: Rajan, Malik’s brother, and Munna Malik—their spoiled nephew—nurse their own grudges and plot in the shadows as Shivam’s rising influence complicates everyone’s loyalties.

Malik assigns Shivam a delicate task: to watch over his young mistress, Reema, a Pakistani girl who Malik had bought in Bangkok’s flesh market. If Reema is found cheating, Shivam must report back. In this assignment, Shivam’s memories confront him. He is forced to reckon with his lost love, Aliyah, a devout Muslim he met by chance in the marketplace. Their romance is short and tragic. Aliyah’s father, furious at his daughter’s relationship with a gangster, confronts Shivam and, after a tense moment, shoots at him. Shivam dodges, but Aliyah is struck by the bullet, and her death drives a wedge of guilt into Shivam that never fully leaves him. Aliyah’s father takes his own life in the aftermath, deepening the pain that Shivam carries.

One night, Shivam learns that Reema has a secret boyfriend, Bilal, who urges her to run away with him back to Pakistan. Malik orders Reema’s elimination, and Shivam confronts the couple to carry out the hit. Yet when Reema dares Malik to shoot her, claiming freedom as her right and begging for mercy “for God’s sake,” Shivam is reminded of Aliyah’s faith and mannerisms and cannot bring himself to fire. He spares Reema, and Malik, infuriated by Shivam’s defiance, realizes Shivam’s disobedience has deepened.

Shivam’s hesitation pushes him toward a drastic plan: flee Hong Kong with Kabir, who is reluctant to abandon the life they’ve built. The plan fails when Kabir betrays Shivam to Malik, whose respect for Kabir grows as a result. Shivam is captured and subjected to torture by Ronnie Malik’s men until he finally agrees to kill Reema—an order Shivam cannot fulfill. Malik, hurt and angry, transfers Shivam’s trust and responsibilities to Kabir and rekindles old feuds with Rajan and Munna, declaring that Shivam must be brought before him alive so he can finish him personally. Kabir, torn by guilt for his betrayal, lets Shivam know he would give his life for him.

Shivam escapes and seeks refuge at the monastery of Siddharth Sood, a Buddhist monk he once freed from danger. There, he nurses his wounds and, sparked by Aliyah’s memory and her belief in freedom, resolves not to hide forever but to fulfill someone else’s dream: to unite Bilal and Reema and help them reach Lahore, Pakistan. With renewed resolve, Shivam rescues Bilal from Malik’s henchmen—led by Kabir—killing everyone except Kabir, who proclaims his loyalty to Shivam one last time before his brutal end at Malik’s hands.

Kabir’s sacrifice buys Shivam the chance to help Bilal and Reema escape to the ships waiting at the docks. Reema, torn between leaving Shivam and staying, is finally persuaded to go with Bilal, while Kabir’s final confrontation with Malik’s gang delays Malik’s pursuit. The climactic chase returns to the docks as Malik’s forces collide with Shivam, Bilal, Reema, and Ronnie. A brutal gunfight erupts, leaving Shivam and Ronnie dead, along with several others, as Bilal and Reema slip away.

In the end, Shivam’s struggles are rewarded in a mythic, final moment: he reunites with Aliyah in heaven, a symbolic closure to a life spent chasing danger and seeking redemption. Reema, speaking from Pakistan, tells a conference about her ordeal and the nameless “awara” who sacrificed everything to save her, urging the audience to stand up for trafficking victims and the hope of freedom. The film closes on a note that blends tragedy and quiet triumph, underscoring the enduring power of loyalty, sacrifice, and the belief that compassion can outpace violence in the end.