Plot
Intelligence Bureau officer Raghavendra Rajput convenes a meeting with DSP Viswanath Sastry; Delhi Police Commissioner Singh; VIP Security Officer Anuj Gupta; and the Prime Minister’s personal security head Vikram Choudhary, to discuss Tiger Nageswara Rao, a notorious thief who dominated Stuartpuram in the 1970s.
In 1956, a young Nagi lives in poverty under Yelamanda, a powerful gangster controlling Stuartpuram. When Yelamanda refuses to pay his father extra wages, Nagi and his father rob him. When his father urges him to return the money, Nagi kills him instead. Years later, Nagi is trained by Gajjala Prasad, the region’s criminal mentor. Yelamanda becomes an MLA, with his younger brother Kasi running local operations. During an auction, businessman Angee Seth asks for help stealing a tobacco consignment. Kasi refuses, but Nagi accepts and burns down the ship to retrieve it, earning notoriety.
Nagi develops a relationship with a prostitute, Jayavani, leading to a violent altercation with Circle Inspector Mouli, whom Nagi blinds in one eye. Later, Nagi meets a college student, Sara, and falls in love. When Kasi kidnaps Sara over her family’s debts, Nagi rescues her, declaring his control over both her and Stuartpuram. However, when they plan to elope, Kasi and the police ambush them. Sara, humiliated, slaps Nagi and leaves but accidentally dies after being hit by a train.
Nagi is later imprisoned for refusing to reveal the location of smuggled gold but escapes after 14 years, killing Yelamanda’s men and Kasi in revenge. Soon after, Rajput receives a threat from Nagi claiming he will rob the PM's residence within 48 hours. During heightened security, Nagi disguises himself as the PM, successfully deceiving the team. The real PM orders Nagi's immediate encounter.
Rajput visits Prasad, who explains that Nagi, despite his crimes, worked to improve Stuartpuram. In flashbacks, Nagi defends a young boy mistreated for being from the village, vows to end the corrupt annual auctions, and encourages education through a local teacher. He also redistributes flood relief that Yelamanda intended to steal, earning villagers’ respect. Nagi plans to establish a tobacco factory to provide employment but lacks funds and government approval, prompting his gold heist.
When Kasi tortures Nagi’s friends to learn the gold’s location, Yaari finally reveals it after witnessing a woman named Manga’s brutal death. Enraged, Nagi kills Kasi and impales Yelamanda. He later reconnects with his childhood friend Mani and marries her. However, Yelamanda survives and conspires with Mouli to eliminate Nagi. Mani becomes pregnant but is tortured by Mouli until social reformer Hemalatha Lavanam intervenes. Hemalatha persuades Nagi to reform himself before helping the village, promising to legalize the tobacco factory if he surrenders. Though Nagi refuses, her efforts begin transforming Stuartpuram.
As Mouli kills Nagi's friends, Hemalatha submits the factory permit, but Yelamanda tries to block it. Mani gives birth to twins while Nagi plans a bank robbery to fund the project. During the heist, Mouli’s men ambush Nagi’s group, killing his companion. Nagi is wounded but destroys his pursuers with explosives. Rajput petitions the PM to reconsider, and Hemalatha agrees to represent Nagi legally.
Meanwhile, Nagi’s ally betrays him to Mouli in exchange for his life, leading to Nagi’s capture. Jayavani realizes too late that she has helped hand over Nagi. At Yelamanda’s factory, Yelamanda gloats that the tobacco project has been canceled, but a phone call informs him he has been dismissed from his party and the factory will proceed, recognizing Nagi’s humanitarian efforts. After a brutal fight, Nagi strangles Yelamanda to death but is shot by Mouli, whom he manages to kill before dying. The villagers and Hemalatha arrive as Nagi, fatally wounded, entrusts his wife and children’s future to her before succumbing to his wounds.
In the epilogue, it is revealed that Nagi killed his father as a child at his father’s own request, believing one death could save many lives. Rajput salutes Nagi’s grave, declaring his legacy will live on. A young boy walking to school meets a man - revealed to be Nagi - symbolizing the continuation of his spirit.
The end credits display events from the life of the real Tiger Nageswara Rao.
