‘Mission Majnu’ Ending, Explained: Is It Based On True Events? What Happens To Amandeep And Other Agents?

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Shantanu Bagchi’s film “Mission Majnu” is an out-and-out Bollywood action-drama film. While we are not new to the idea of a hero coming up with impossible solutions to show his intelligence and bravery, “Mission Majnu” takes it up a notch. The film revolves around how RAW agents located in Pakistan gathered information on Pakistan’s nuclear mission during the 1970s. The central figure of this action drama is Amandeep Ajit Pal Singh, portrayed by Sidharth Malhotra. Amandeep is a covert agent who goes by the name Tariq in Pakistan. He works at a tailoring store and lives an ordinary life. When India conducted their first nuclear weapons test, the Pakistani administration lost its cool and decided to secretly create its own nuclear facility. While criticizing India’s nuclear weapon testing on global platforms, Pakistan was secretly planning to become a nuclear power. “Mission Majnu” is a film about how India used intelligence to counter Pakistan’s growing interest in nuclear weapons.

Spoilers Ahead


‘Mission Majnu’ Plot Summary: What Is The Film About?

Amandeep Ajit Pal Singh, aka Tariq, stays true to his cover identity. He prays five times a day and has learned the art of tailoring thoroughly. With his simplistic behavior and innocence, he managed to win the trust of those around him. To gather information, he convinced an acquaintance to trust his store to make Pakistani army uniforms. While Amandeep’s mind focused on his duty, his heart was smitten when he noticed Nasreen. Nasreen lived in the same neighborhood as Amandeep, and even though Nasreen was visually impaired, she could smell Amandeep’s perfume and recognize him from afar, no matter how secretive he tried to be. Nasreen’s father was not pleased with his daughter’s choice. He knew that Tariq was uneducated and earned a meager wage, but when Nasreen declared that she wanted to get married to him, he could not say no. Tariq and Nasreen were married, and she was pregnant when Amandeep was tasked with locating Pakistan’s nuclear facility. Nasreen had no idea who her husband was; to her, he was a simple tailor who loved her immensely. While Amandeep had truly fallen in love with Nasreen, his duty towards his country took precedence.

On his way to deliver the uniforms, Amandeep removed two buttons from the Brigadier’s garment. As he had anticipated, the Brigadier asked the owner to send his worker to fix the issue. Amandeep offered to do the job and managed to enter the house of the Brigadier. While fixing the buttons, Amandeep strikes up a conversation to gather information about the plant. He expressed his hopes that Pakistan would show India its superiority, and the Brigadier confirmed that very soon, there would be a reason for Pakistanis to celebrate as well since they, too, will soon test their nuclear weapon. Amandeep further pressed him to reveal the location, but the Brigadier simply mentioned that it would be somewhere around Rawalpindi. When Amandeep shared this information with his superior in Delhi, he was ridiculed for not doing his duty well. The information he gathered was insufficient to take any action. Amandeep was aware that he had to get the exact location, but he needed time to find out all about the plant. While Amandeep developed a plan to get to the bottom of the truth, his senior, Mr. Sharma, contacted another RAW agent, Aslam Usmaniya, to keep track of him. He asked Aslam to shoot Amandeep in case his real identity was ever exposed during the mission. The mission was labeled “Mission Majnu,” and Amandeep dedicated his life to making the mission a success.


‘Mission Majnu’ Ending Explained: What Happened To Amandeep And Other RAW Agents In The End?

Amandeep initially started studying the places around Rawalpindi and focused on gathering the names of nuclear scientists who lived abroad, as was mentioned in passing by the Brigadier. But to get to the specifics, Amandeep employs quite unusual techniques. He realized that a scientist who had visited Pakistan must have had a western style toilet in his household, so he went to the market in search of western style toilets. He was told by a shopkeeper that in all of Pakistan, he would not find it unless he ordered it. He added that there had previously been only one order for a western commode. Upon asking for the location of the man who ordered the commode, the shopkeeper readily provides him with it. The house was locked, and from the neighbor, he learned that a man named “Khan” lived with his family in that house. His wife was a white woman, and he had two kids. Amandeep secretly entered the house at night and found the western commode, further confirming his doubt. He befriended the neighbor’s little boy and inquired about the school where Khan’s kids were enrolled. He reached the school and bribed the peon to find out the name of the parents. He learned that the scientist was Abdul Qadeer Khan, one of the scientists on his list. The fact that Abdul Qadeer Khan was brought to Pakistan established that the country was planning to create nuclear weapons, but Amandeep was yet to find the location of the plant.

He joined forces with RAW agents Aslam Usmaniya and Raman Singh to uncover the location of the plant. While the new Prime Minister of India, after the 1977 election, specifically asked RAW to stop investigating Pakistan’s nuclear plant to avoid another war, the agents decided to gather information, nonetheless. They were risking their lives by going against the government’s decision, but they believed that collecting such a vital piece of information was necessary. Amandeep learned from an acquaintance that the army was ordering a different kind of uniform made with unique material. The army men came to the doorstep of the tailoring store to collect the uniforms in order to not disclose the location where the uniforms were taken. Amandeep knew that a different kind of uniform would be necessary for a nuclear facility, and he decided to follow the trucks that carried the uniforms. Dressed as Pakistani military, Amandeep, Raman, and Aslam stopped the truck and intimidated the men into disclosing the location they were heading to. The men panicked and disclosed that they were going to Kahuta. Kahuta was close to the Indian border; they purposefully chose the location to warn their neighbor that they were not far behind. While they carried on building missiles, they decided to distract the Indian army by instigating trouble in Kashmir.

After reaching Kahuta, Amandeep learned that Pakistan had been working on its nuclear plant for the last two years. He took pictures of the town, but just as he was about to take pictures of the facility, he and Aslam were caught by the Pakistani military. They lied their way out of the tense situation. Amandeep had seen the facility with his own eyes, but he needed proof to send it to India. Initially, he thought of risking his life to get to the facility, but later, when he heard a man discuss the side effects of X-ray emission, he was struck by a brilliant plan. Since there was only one barber shop in the entire Kahuta, he knew that every military man visited the place. He collected samples of their hair that were lying around the shop. He believed that tests could be conducted to verify whether or not the men were exposed to radioactive emissions. If the report was positive, it would confirm the presence of a nuclear facility in Pakistan. By stealing a stranger’s passport and dressing up as a Sikh man, he managed to board the Samjhauta Express train. He hid the hair sample inside a woman’s luggage and informed his senior in Delhi of the woman’s details. The evidence was collected and tested, and it was reported as positive. Israel had planned to airstrike Quetta since their intelligence led them to believe that was where the facility was situated. To stop Israel’s attack, they needed physical evidence, and with the sample sent by Amandeep, they had what they needed. Mr. Sharma called his Israeli contact and informed them about Kahuta. It was because of Amandeep’s spontaneity that India could stop Israel from attacking and starting another war. Amandeep’s father was an agent as well; he had betrayed his country and sold off intelligence. When the truth was revealed, he shot himself in front of Amandeep. Amandeep was hated for being the son of a traitor, but instead of succumbing to the hate, he remembered the love that he was showered with. His goal was not just to right the wrong his father once committed but to show his love for his country. He did not carry the hatred he had once experienced but rather the love he had received on his journey to becoming an agent.

While RAW advised the Prime Minister to bomb the Kahuta facility, he was not ready to start another war. He contacted General Zia and disclosed that India was aware of Pakistan’s nuclear facility in Kahuta, and he demanded that he shut down the facility. General Zia denied having any knowledge about it, but in reality, he was completely startled. He immediately instructed his team to close down the Kahuta facility. He knew that India would send its fighter jets and destroy the expensive facility they had built. He could not allow Pakistan’s reputation to be spoiled, and the immediate shutting down of the facility was the necessary step. In the meantime, they focused on finding the RAW agents who were responsible for sending intelligence to India. They compiled a list of potential RAW agents by tracking down phone conversations and timing. Amandeep was leaving Pakistan with Nasreen and heading to Dubai. Meanwhile, Aslam was found by the Pakistani military, and he put up a fight until his last breath. When Raman noticed that army men were following him, he knew that he would be shot dead. But instead of giving up, he blasted his car, sacrificing himself and killing the army men.

Amandeep reached the airport and managed to hand over Nasreen safely to an airline employee. Nasreen did not know what her husband was running away from; she could sense he was in danger, but Amandeep did not discuss the truth with her. He could see the military searching for him at the airport. He knew that he could not get away, but he wanted Nasreen to leave Pakistan and give birth to their child in a safe place. To distract the military’s attention from Nasreen, he declared that he was an Indian. The army men fired shots at him, and he continued to fight until the flight to Dubai took off. He was shot to death, and Nasreen learned the truth after reaching Dubai from the Chief of RAW, R. N. Rao.

While Amandeep was ridiculed for being the son of a traitor, he had a fire burning within him to prove his love and dedication towards his country. He fulfilled his duty to his nation and, at the same time, managed to take care of the safety of Nasreen and his unborn child till the very end. He did not wish for his child to remember him as a traitor; he wanted his child to be proud of the sacrifice their father made for India.


Is Sidharth Malhotra Starrer Film Based On Real Events?

“Mission Majnu” is a film that is influenced by real events. The film traces what followed after the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. RAW agents played a crucial role in gathering information on Pakistan. While the character of Amandeep Singh is not based on any particular real-life figure, the risks and dedication involved in carrying out such missions, as shown in the film, are inspired by real-life stories. It is reported that a RAW agent had gathered information on Pakistan’s nuclear facility in Kahuta. He did so by collecting a sample of hair from a barber shop in Kahuta and sending it to Delhi to be tested for radioactive emission, as was shown in the film. The agent was about to receive a blueprint of the Kahuta facility through a mole, but unfortunately, the plan was destroyed. The information was crucial for India, but the then Prime Minister of India, Morarji Desai, decided to confront the then-military administrator, General Zia Ul Haq, about it. He disclosed India’s knowledge about the facility, which exposed the entire RAW network in Pakistan. He was a Gandhian and believed in truthfulness and clarity to build a meaningful relationship with the neighboring countries, but his honesty was not rewarded with kindness. This confrontation resulted in the deaths of several RAW agents living in Pakistan.

In 1998, finally after two decades, Pakistan became a nuclear power. As for India, after the first round of nuclear weapons test in 1974, the country successfully conducted five nuclear bomb test explosions at the Pokhran test range in 1998. “Mission Majnu” pays tribute to the nameless fighters who risked their lives in a foreign country to protect their nation and its people.


“Mission Majnu” is a 2023 Drama Thriller film directed by Shantanu Bagchi. 

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Srijoni Rudra
Srijoni Rudra
Srijoni has worked as a film researcher on a government-sponsored project and is currently employed as a film studies teacher at a private institute. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Film Studies. Film History and feminist reading of cinema are her areas of interest.

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