- A story that revolves around drug abuse in the affluent north Indian State of Punjab and how the youth there have succumbed to it en-masse resulting in a socio-economic decline.
- What on earth can a rock star, a migrant laborer, a doctor and a cop possibly have in common? Simple, Punjab! 4 lives, 1 connection - 'Udta Punjab' takes you on a trip like never before. Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Diljit Dosanjh play characters from different walks of life, fighting the menace of drugs in their own way. The film journeys into the artificial highs and the real lows that they face while treading the paths fraught with mortal dangers. But above all, Udta Punjab is about the famed Punjabi spirit, that despite being fully down, has the audacity of looking you in the eye and saying - Drugs di maa di!
- The film opens with three Pakistani youth across the Punjab Pakistan border throwing packets of drugs across to India, for it to be picked up later.
Tejinder "Tommy" Singh (Shahid Kapoor), also known as "Gabru" among his fans, is a young Punjabi musician who lives a luxurious lifestyle assisted by his successful music career. Together with an ostentatious crew that is led by Tayaji (Satish Kaushik) and cousin Jassi (Suhail Nayyar), he indulges in uncontrolled consumption of cocaine. Tommy is popular for his adrenaline-pumping songs, with lyrics that often glorify violence and drug-addiction. However, his addiction soon costs him his music contract and lands him in jail. In prison, he meets two of his die-hard fans, who remark how Tommy's lifestyle had 'inspired' theirs, leading them to commit murder. Realizing that his songs have adversely and negatively affected teenagers, Tommy decides to change his ways upon release. A few days later, Tommy engages in an altercation with Tayaji and accidentally shoots him, injuring his ear. This causes Tayaji to send Tommy and his crew away to a farmhouse so that he can prepare for an upcoming concert.
Working on the farm is a Bihari migrant worker named Kumari Pinky (Alia Bhatt), frequently called Bauria. Bauria's dreams of playing national level hockey for the country were shattered, so she came to Punjab to work as a laborer. Bauria works for a local landlord who uses agriculture as a front for drug peddling. One night, while walking around the farm, she finds a suspicious packet, one actually thrown from across the border. She soon realizes that it is some kind of drug, and resolves to sell it. Her search for a potential buyer lands her in great trouble as she unwittingly contacts the original owners of the heroin. She is chased and eventually captured by the gang of drug peddlers but not before she discards it into a well. As a compensation for their lost drugs, the peddlers forcibly keep Bauria at their farm house where she is sexually and physically abused, given drugs and prostituted to several men - including police officers from the local police force. Some weeks later, Bauria manages to escape from the house.
In the neighboring town lives Preet Sahni (Kareena Kapoor), a doctor and activist who runs a rehabilitation center. Sartaj Singh (Diljit Dosanjh) is a junior policeman attached to the town's station, who knows about the smuggling of drugs his seniors are allowing on a large scale. But when it affects his family, as his brother, Balli (Prabhjyot Singh), overdoses on Chaand (a locally-made drug) and is brought to Preet's clinic, he realizes the grave situation. She educates Sartaj about the drug problem and partly accuses him for his brother's state. Together, they decide to find the root cause of the problem. Balli is admitted in Preet's drug rehabilitation center against his will.
Appearing before his audience in a concert, instead of singing, Tommy starts preaching. Infuriated by his speech about how one should lead his/her life, his fans try to admonish him, and start throwing bottles at him. Tommy gets angry and urinates in front of the crowd. Making a run out of the concert to save himself from the crowd's angst, Tommy goes and hides inside a dilapidated structure. There he meets Bauria and together they start sharing their stories. However, the next day, Bauria is recaptured by the same gang which had kept her imprisoned. Tommy learns the next day that an arrest warrant has been issued for him because of the public ruckus he created at the concert. He sets out to find Bauria after realizing his true feelings for her. He finds that she is kept in a farmhouse and goes there.
Preet and Sartaj find that the driving force behind the drug problem in Punjab is an elderly man called Virender Singh, who has flourished with the support of MP Maninder Brar. Sartaj and Preet go to extreme measures to collect evidence against the politician and put together a report to be sent to the state's Election Commission, to thwart Brar's campaign for another term in power. Sartaj soon develops feelings for her and asks her out, which she reciprocates. However,the same night,while returning home, Preet sees a manic Balli, who was being treated against his wish at her rehab center trying to escape. On trying to stop him, she gets stabbed accidentally by Balli. The policemen who come to investigate her homicide, including Sartaj's senior officer Jhujar Singh (Manav Vij), also come across the report made by Sartaj and Preet. Since he is Sartaj's mentor and close friend, Jhujar decides to protect Balli by sending Balli underground for a while and creating a scene of murder for gain. But he gets infuriated when he sees that he too has been named in the drug racket, and calls Sartaj at the site.
In the presence of the local drug mafia in their farmhouse (where Bhuria is kept confined), a bruised and beaten Sartaj is questioned by Jhujar,who is also a key member in the drug racket, about the report. Sartaj says whatever he did was for the sake of Punjab. At the same time, Tommy, who is on the run from the police and has been searching for Bauria, enters the enclosure. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sartaj grabs Jhujar's service pistol and shoots the whole gang except Tommy. He then rushes inside the house to free his brother Balli, who is being held captive. He frees Balli, while Tommy goes upstairs and helps Bauria escape from her captors. Finally, as Tommy and Bauria run off, Balli kneels down and cries in front of his brother, whose face is expressionless.
In a later scene it is seen that the government has issued an inquiry into the activities of Maninder Brar and there has been a huge crackdown on the drug menace. And in a scene in Goa,amidst his crew members enjoying at the beach side, Tommy calls Kumari/Bauria from his crew member's phone to ask for her real name. Sitting by the beach, she catches sight of a foreigner having fun. Inspired, she utters "Mary Jane".
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