Guru 2017

Aditya / Aadi is a once-talented boxer whose promising career was derailed by dirty politics within the boxing federation. Years later, now coaching the women’s boxing teams, he channels that anger into hard-edged determination as he fights against the pervasive bias in selection. His growing rift with the federation’s head, Dev Khatri, pushes him into a desperate corner when he is falsely charged with sexual harassment and shipped off to Vizag.

In the coastal city, where infrastructure barely keeps pace with ambition, Aadi stumbles upon a raw talent in a roadside vegetable seller, Rameswari / Ramudu. He and his assistant coach, Punch Ponds, spot her during her sister’s tournament, and something about her natural grit catches their attention. While Rameswari’s elder sister, Lakshmi / Lux, who has been boxing for eight years, remains in the background, Aadi makes a bold move to train Rameswari for four hours every day. This partnership is far from smooth; his ruthless regimen clashes with her fiery, uncompromising style, and the pair repeatedly butt heads as they push each other to the limit.

Rameswari’s stubborn resolve leads her to deliberately lose a local match, a moment that exposes the friction between mentor and protégé. To keep their chances alive, Aadi requests that Lakshmi and Rameswari’s parents move both daughters into a hostel under his supervision so they can train without distractions. Rameswari misreads his intent at first, but the truth comes out when she discovers Aadi has even sold his bike to buy new training equipment for her. Her respect grows, and with it, a shift in their dynamic as she begins training with growing intensity and a developing, unspoken affection for her coach. When she finally opens up about her feelings on the eve of a qualifying match, Aadi shuts her down with a firm, professional boundary.

The balance between ambition and emotion is further tested during a crucial warm-up, when Lakshmi’s jealousy flares and she injures Rameswari’s hand, sabotaging the lead-up to the match. Aadi, stubborn and convinced that Rameswari has thrown matches before, removes her from the training camp, deepening the rift and threatening to derail her prospects.

Dev Khatri then manipulates the situation to send Rameswari to Delhi for a cultural exchange tournament, where she faces a heavyweight Russian opponent who knocks her out in seconds. After the brutal defeat, Dev Khatri tries to exploit the moment with an indecent proposal, prompting Rameswari to physically strike him. The consequence is swift and harsh: Dev Khatri has her arrested on false theft charges, a move designed to bury her dreams once more.

But Aadi refuses to abandon Rameswari. He bails her out and together they plot a path back to the ring, taking her to Delhi to pursue a wild-card entry into the World Boxing Championship. Rameswari trains with renewed focus and advances to the semifinals, fueling hope for a dramatic comeback. In the finals, Dev Khatri strips her of her name on the entry list and dares Aadi to resign if he wants to see her in the final, facing the same Russian fighter who had defeated her before. Undeterred, Rameswari earns a place in the final, though she learns of Aadi’s resignation with a sense of heartbreak and doubt.

In a tense final, she fights with dwindling points and a painful injury, but Aadi arrives at the stadium with a strategic nudge. He cues her to exploit her opponent’s arms, a move that weakens the Russian and allows Rameswari to surge in the closing seconds. She lands a decisive knockout as the clock runs down, and Dev Khatri rushes to claim credit for her triumph. In a powerful, emotional moment, she punches him and then rushes into the embrace of her coach, sealing an intimate reunion that underscores the bond between teacher and student and the resilience of their shared dream.