Naxal 2015

On 21 May 1971, a group of Naxalite youths makes a daring escape, with the most prominent figure being Anirban Sen. In the confusion of that day, a comrade named Samar dies, and Anirban, along with their leader Sankar Da, slips away into the city, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions and a legacy that haunts everyone involved.

Fast forward to 2013, after nearly 42 years, a fax lands at the Kolkata Metro Railways Headquarters announcing that Anirban will commit suicide under the last Metro. The message becomes a city-wide ripple, stirring the Kolkata Police Headquarters (Lalbazar) and television studios alike, as the rumor of a suicide reverberates through every corner of the metropolis. The spectacle draws attention from the top echelons of media and law enforcement, each trying to interpret the motive behind this ominous claim.

At the same moment, Siddhartha Chowdhury, the CEO of the number-one Bengali news channel, seizes the opportunity to surge his channel’s TRP by turning the crisis into a high-stakes broadcast. His plan is challenged, however, when Shubhankar, a journalist under Siddhartha’s umbrella, uncovers a startling twist: Sankar Da, long presumed dead or vanished, is very much alive in Kolkata under a new name, and that name belongs to Siddhartha Chowdhury himself. This revelation complicates the narrative, inserting personal risk into the professional arena and forcing the channel to confront how far it will go for ratings.

As the truth tightens its grip, Siddhartha makes a brash move to broadcast Anirban’s suicide LIVE, attempting to demonstrate ruthless control over the story and over those involved. Yet his confidence wavers as he realizes that Anirban knows a great deal about him, a realization that casts doubt on the grand plan and intensifies the danger. In response to the looming threat, Siddhartha withdraws a revolver from a safety locker, ready to end the confrontation and prove that he is not merely a hero of the press but a man capable of decisive, even ruthless action.

The tension escalates to a dramatic confrontation at the Maidan metro station, where the long-brewing conflict between Anirban and Siddhartha reaches its apex. In a climactic struggle that stirs memories of the past, Anirban seeks to avenge the deaths of his true friends from 1971, a vow carried for over four decades. The showdown culminates in Siddhartha’s death, and with that act, Anirban emerges as a true hero in the eyes of those who remember the friends lost decades earlier, closing a chapter that began with a fight for survival in 1971 and concluding with a reckoning that redefines his life and legacy.