Zubaan 2015

The story opens with flashbacks of a young man, Dilsher Vicky Kaushal, who grows up in a village in Gurdaspur, Punjab. His father used to recite Shabad Kirtan in Gurudwaras, but after his death, Dilsher develops a fear of music and a speech impairment that leaves him stammering. He travels to Delhi to meet Gurcharan “Guru” Sikand Manish Chaudhary, a formidable businessman known as the Lion of Gurdaspur, hoping to find a path forward in life.

A flashback reveals how, while being bullied at school, a young Gurcharan teaches him that life can be cruel and that one must fight back. He even gives Dilsher a pen, a symbol of writing his own destiny and taking control of his future. Encouraged by this gift, Dilsher begins to imagine his own agency in a world that has tried to keep him quiet.

Back in the present, Dilsher befriends Tulsi Ram, the leader of a workforce employed on one of KSIL’s projects, and through Tulsi Ram learns more about Gurcharan. He then aims for a position at KSIL by joining a security agency, hoping to reach the corporate world, but ends up landing a job at a music show where he notices Amira Sarah-Jane Dias dancing to a song. Her presence awakens something in him that his lifelong fears have hidden, and a tentative bond begins to form.

A bouncer named Yadav is assigned to KSIL the next day. Dilsher pleads to swap with him but is mocked for his eagerness. In a tense moment, Dilsher injures Yadav and secures a temporary substitute role. As he navigates a delicate arrangement between Tulsi Ram’s workforce and Surya Sikand, KSIL’s ambitious heir, Dilsher finally meets Gurcharan again and reminds him of the pen he gave him. Gurcharan, moved by the memory and the sense that this stranger understands him, plays a CD of songs from his Gurdaspur days, hinting at a shared past and the possibility of a new alliance.

Gurcharan’s generosity deepens; Tulsi Ram’s wealth is directed to support the education of his sons, and the sum is delivered in a red bag with a hidden extra amount that Dilsher subtly slips in. Sometime later, Dilsher moves his operations to the construction site where Tulsi Ram works. Surya grows suspicious, but Gurcharan orders his assistant Ajmani to arrange a room beside his estate for Dilsher, signaling a pivot in their relationship.

At a party, Surya’s mood darkens as he introduces Dilsher to Amira, who rebukes him for his condescending attitude. Amira mentions Dhruvtara, an event she wants to attend, but she says it’s reserved for close friends of her late brother Dhruv. After a tense moment, Dilsher is attacked by thugs sent by Surya, who warns him to stay away from the estate.

Dilsher visits Amira again, bringing her bananas, and they share a moment fueled by alcohol. The next morning, Amira discovers Dilsher singing and, to her surprise, realizes he does not stammer while singing. This moment triggers a memory of his father and a long-suppressed love for music, rekindling Dilsher’s belief that music might be his path after all.

As Dilsher’s bond with Gurcharan grows, Gurcharan favors him over Surya, igniting Mandy—Mandira Sikand Meghna Malik—to push back, insisting that Dilsher be removed. Yet Dilsher remains loyal to Gurcharan. A brutal confrontation later proves costly: goons aligned with Surya attack Dilsher, but he returns the blow with a vow to outgrow his rival and prove that Surya is no match for the man his father would have wanted him to become.

Dilsher and Amira reconnect, learning that Dhruv, Amira’s brother, did not like Surya and had a volatile temperament when drunk. At a party, KSIL’s Les Twins are set to perform, and Dilsher tries to apologize to Surya, but the moment passes. Meanwhile, Gurcharan is furious when he notices Mehta trying to approach Mandy and warns him off, a sign of the growing tensions behind KSIL’s glittering facade. The night culminates in revelations: Dilsher admits to injuring Yadav to press his case with Gurcharan, and Gurcharan exposes a complicated truth—Surya is Mandy’s son with Mehta, and Mehta’s connection to KSIL explains the deep, tangled resentment.

Dilsher’s world is shaken by these revelations, including the realization that the goons who attacked him were ordered by Gurcharan himself, not Surya. This revelation makes him question KSIL’s fit for him, and he chooses to step away. He seeks solace in Amira’s performance, and as the song ends, the two share a kiss, sealing a new emotional turn in his journey.

A series of flashbacks returns to his father’s arc: the speech impairment that led to his father’s banishment from the Gurudwara, his eventual desolation, and his suicide. These memories crystallize Dilsher’s understanding of music, life, and the cost of choosing one’s own path. With this insight, he lets go of the bitterness that once tethered him to KSIL and the Sikand family.

Dilsher leaves Gurcharan’s orbit and sets out for a new life, which also implicates Gurcharan, Surya, and Mandy in the fallout of his decisions. He’s arrested on arrival in Gurdaspur, then released, and he writes a message to Amira, signaling a reunion to come. The film closes with that hopeful note, as Dilsher and Amira’s bond stands as a testament to resilience, self-determination, and the healing power of music.