Two Indian Air Force helicopter pilots, Squadron Leader Vikram Rathore and Flight Lieutenant Shezad Khan (played by Sanjay Dutt and Sunil Shetty respectively) rescue an injured Indian trooper amidst a pile of dead terrorists in the Kashmir valley. They read his diary to learn his story, as the film unfolds.
Insurgency in Manipur
The tale revolves around an Indian Border Security Force trooper named Tarun Chauhan (Bobby Deol) in the 101st BSF Battalion arriving in Manipur to tackle the menace of Bodo rebels. He soon joins his platoon commander Havaldar (Sergeant) Mohammad Ali (Ajay Devgan). Chauhan later acknowledges his codename "Tango Charlie", Havaldar Ali's codename being "Mike Alpha."
The rebels attack and the platoon accidentally kills one of their own as a set trap by the rebels. Then another young soldier is kidnapped and is left half dead as bait, with the rebels hiding in the bushes, killing whoever comes to rescue him. Another member of the platoon falls into the trap and is shot dead (Shahbaaz Khan). Chauhan and Havaldar Ali kill most of the rebels. When the leader tries to escape by boat, both of them swim over and engage in hand-to-hand combat; Mike Alpha slits the throat of leader (Kelly Dorji) with his own machete. Chauhan sees that the last alive rebel is only a young boy and Ali spares his life. Chauhan returns home to his native state of Haryana and learns that he's going to be engaged to Lachchi Narayan (Tanishaa), a computer engineer.
Maoists in Telangana
A few months later Mike Alpha's platoon is transferred to the state of Telangana to counter the Maoists separatists wreaking havoc on the countryside. The Platoon are riding in a convoy to Hyderabad, while protecting a high-ranking colonel's wife and young children. The Maoists set off a planted IED under the jeep, killing the colonel and his family. The platoon pursue and kill the rebels and one trooper Sangram Singh attempts to rape a female rebel but Chauhan stops him. The rebel then kills herself. Singh attacks Chauhan but Chauhan kills him in self-defense. Chauhan surrenders himself to Mike Alpha. But Mike Alpha changes the story about Singh's death to the superiors, saying Chauhan did the right thing.
Riots in Gujarat
On their next assignment, the platoon is sent to quell the riots taking place in the western province of Gujarat. The police chief desperately tries to calm the crowd but is shot and killed by an extremist, and the platoon too opens fire. Chauhan tries to shoot the extremist but accidentally kills a bystander who pops into the way. Chauhan later visits the victim's family to seek forgiveness, but they assault him in anger. Mike Alpha intervenes and warns them, saying the BSF isn't here to kill innocent people but to stop people from committing acts of violence and they themselves are responsible for their losses. While in a military hospital, Havaldar Ali tells Chauhan his own tragic story, in which he was once assigned to save the family of a rich landlord from Naxalites in Bengal. The terrorists kill almost everyone at the landlord's daughter's wedding. Despite all effort, the platoon couldn't save the family; the daughter, who began to take a liking for Ali, was soon killed by the terrorists before he could eliminate them all. He says it was the first time that he listened to his heart and not his mind. Chauhan thereafter marries Lachchi Narayan.
In Kashmir
The Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan begins and Mike Alpha's platoon and the battalion move to Kashmir where they are assigned to defend a bridge. Mike Alpha gives Chauhan a strict order- shoot anyone who wants to cross the bridge but doesn't say the password "Rainfall" after three attempts. Pakistani militants attack the platoon, the army kill a large number of the militants but Mike Alpha is severely wounded before being approached by a real Indian battalion of soldiers who give him the correct password. Mike Alpha salutes them and then dies. Chauhan arms himself to the teeth and stalks the Pakistanis to their base. He wires the place with explosives, killing the rest of the militants. Chauhan then shoots the gang leader dead before being wounded.
The film returns to the beginning, Chauhan being rescued by the helicopter pilots. Later the pilots are rewarded for finding Tango Charlie. Havaldar Ali is awarded post humously with the Ashok Chakra.
Cast
Bobby Deol as BSF Soldier Sepoy Tarun Chauhan (Tango Charlie)
Ajay Devgan as BSF Soldier Hawaldar Mohammad Ali (Mike Alpha)
BBC's Jaspreet Pandohar described the film as "an interesting study of terrorism, violence, and valour".[3] Ziya Us Salam pf The Hindu called the film "a visual treat with a daring theme" and "dares to enter where the Indian media shies away".[5] Harish Kotian of Rediff.com wrote, "The movie tries to glimpse into the life of soldiers, and the sacrifices they make, but somewhere in the middle, the movie loses its plot."[6]
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