Paan Singh Tomar 2012

A reporter Brijendra Kala interviews Paan Singh Tomar, a former army man who has captured headlines as a robber accused of killing nine people from a local community. To gain access to Paan, the journalist agrees to surrender his niece as surety to Paan’s men. Paan is widely addressed as Subedaar, a sign of the respect he commands among his peers and his own sense of discipline.

The story then travels back to 1950, when Paan Singh Tomar is serving in the Indian Army. His wife Indra and his mother live in Morena, in the Chambal region. He loves his wife deeply, but duty calls him back to his unit. He learns that his wife has given birth to a baby girl, a moment that momentarily softens the rigid routine of military life. He impresses his senior, Major Masand, with his athletic prowess, earning both praise and a warning about the regiment’s strict expectations. After a late report, he is punished with ten laps around the parade ground; to everyone’s surprise, he completes the run in record time, turning disciplined endurance into a personal triumph.

His appetite and stamina become talking points within the base, but the authorities insist on fixed rations. Though sports had not initially drawn him in, Paan joins the military’s sports division where the diet is more generous and the training clearer. He learns firearms and marksmanship, showing a candor about his own background. He tells the CO that his uncle was a rebel who eluded capture, a remark that hints at a familial history of resistance. He also suggests that, in his view, many officials outside the army behave opportunistically, which colors his decision to pursue strength and speed as a way to challenge authority. Masand eventually assigns him to the Army Physical Training Center.

When the 5000 meters race is proposed, Paan is steered toward the 3000-meter steeplechase by his coach HS Randhawa. This meddling move is tied to the coach’s own family pressures and fear that Paan could outshine the current champion. Yet Paan accepts the challenge and goes on to dominate—the Indian National Games see him win the steeplechase gold for years, a streak that demonstrates his exceptional athletic talent. In 1958, he competes in the Asian Games in Tokyo but struggles to adapt to the track spikes issued only for the final event, leaving him frustrated at the missed chance. He is frustrated further when he cannot fight in the 1962 and 1965 wars due to sports commitments, and in 1967 he wins gold again at the International Military Games, cementing his reputation as a formidable runner.

Back home, his elder brother Matadin Singh Tomar visits and raises concerns about an illegal land grab by their relative Bhanwar Singh. To protect his family’s interests, Paan retires from active service, even when offered a coaching post. Returning to his homeland, he tries to resolve the land dispute through legal channels and with the help of the District Collector, but no one steps in to assist. When his son Hanumant is beaten by Bhanwar Singh’s goons, Paan urges his son to rejoin the army and stay out of the dispute.

The tensions escalate as Bhanwar Singh and his men attempt to strike at Paan’s family, forcing them to seek shelter at the police station. The family escapes, but Paan’s mother is killed in the ensuing violence. Grief becomes rage, and Paan adopts the identity of a Baaghi—an outlaw who wreaks havoc in the Chambal Valley. He forms a growing gang, drawing new members and amassing arms, even using police uniforms and vehicles to evade cross-border scrutiny across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. He expands into extortion and kidnapping, targeting wealthy businessmen to fund weapons and sustenance for his growing force.

A major confrontation with Bhanwar Singh is planned; Paan’s group executes the operation, and Bhanwar Singh—protected by police—meets his end in a high-speed chase. In a village where a friendly Sarpanch secretly feeds information to the police, Paan’s gang is betrayed from within, and the police attack their compound. Though Paan escapes, his elder brother is killed in the assault. The killing of his kin hardens his resolve, and the gang widens its reach while maintaining a ruthless code of retaliation.

The nationwide backlash to the 9 killings ignites pressure from authorities and rival criminal factions who urge Paan to surrender, but he refuses to bow to pressure. The interview with the reporter is published and sparks a media sensation, keeping the manhunt alive even as Paan decides to lie low for a time to protect his family. He reconnects with his inner circle—the gang reconvenes, and a betrayal from within leads to a fatal pursuit. A police operation, led by a team including notable officers, closes in on their hideout on the night of October 1st into October 2nd, 1981. In the ensuing shootout, the group is overwhelmed and all its members are killed, marking the end of Paan Singh Tomar’s controversial chapter.

The film closes on the aftermath of the pursuit, leaving behind a legacy that blends a celebrated athletic career with a blood-soaked legend of rebellion. The narrative juxtaposes Paan’s years of discipline and triumph on the track with the violent turn that transformed him into a symbol of defiance in the Chambal Valley, a figure whose complexity invites reflection on loyalty, justice, and the cost of standing up against systems that never fully defend the everyday athlete who becomes a fugitive.