Spoilers Alert!
"Sita Ramam" is one of the most beautiful, sincere and unadulterated love stories. I have tried to cover all the important detail of this movie, so this recap is going to be a little bit longer.This movie starts with a scene in year 1964 in which a terrorist leader, Ansari is instructing his young militants about the operation Gibraltar. As per him, these militants are supposed to cross the border and enter Kashmir. Once they reach India, they will do something big that will jolt India. One of the militants' name is Rashul who has a little sister named Waheeda. The terrorist leader, Ansari has kept Waheeda with him.
In next scene, those militants are trying to cross a Pakistani checkpoint where a Pakistani Army officer named Abu Tariq stops them. The militants tell him that they are crossing the border for a secret mission. But he does not let them cross as he has not received any information regarding any such mission. Then he gets a call from one of the senior Pakistani officers who asked him to let them cross the checkpoint and not make entry in any records as this is a secret mission. So, he has to let them cross the checkpoint.
Now the story fast forward to the year 1985. Afreen is a Pakistani girl who is studying in London. She hates India and Indians. She shouts slogans against India whenever she sees any Indian. One day she sees a car with an Indian flag on it. She gets so upset that she sets the car on fire.
Unfortunately for her, the car she burned belonged to an Indian industrialist, Anand Mehta. He is sponsoring the education of many underprivileged students. The college administration asked her to apologise but she didn't listen. They wanted to expel her for her actions, but Mr. Mehta did not want her education to be affected. As per him, her hatred could only be ended with love. Afreen did not give a damn about that. So, he gave her two options, either she apologises to him for her actions or compensate him for the car, which cost 10 lakhs.
She agrees to pay compensation, but she does not have that much money with her. So, she decides to visit her grandfather in Pakistan as he is the only one who can give her that much money. She has never visited her grandfather since she came to London because she is angry with him as he sent her to London without her consent. But now she has no other options. So Afreen makes her way back to Pakistan to meet her grandfather. Here we come to know that her grandfather is Abu Tariq, the Pakistani Army officer who tried to stop the militants from crossing the border at the start of the movie.
But when she reaches her home, she finds out that her grandfather passed away months ago. Then she contacts his lawyer, and his lawyer tells her that he tried calling her, but she never answered. He says that her grandfather has left a letter for her. Her grandfather wrote that by the time she would get this letter, he would already be dead. But at his last moments he does not want to break the promise which he gave to his friend, lieutenant Ram, 20 years ago. Lt. Ram had given a letter to him to deliver to Sita Mahalakshmi. He was supposed to repay his debt by delivering this letter to her, but the letter was never delivered. Now it's Afreen's responsibility that she delivers this letter to Sita. As per the letter, Afreen owes it to Lt. Ram.
After reading the grandfather's letter, Afreen gets confused about what this letter from Ram to Sita is all about. Why and how his grandfather became a friend of an enemy soldier and why she owes anything to Lt. Ram. But then she lets it all go and asks his lawyer for money she is supposed to get after his grandfather's death. He tells her that as per her grandfather's will, she will get the inheritance only if she delivers Lt. Ram's letter to Sita.
Seeing no other option, she agrees to deliver the letter. She makes her way to India and gets help from one of her seniors, Balaji, for her task. When she reaches the address written on the letter, she finds out that the place is now a girls' college and as per their records, no one named Sita Mahalakshmi ever lived there. She searched all the possible places, but she was not able to get any information about Sita Mahalakshmi.
Unable to find any information about Sita, she decides to find out about Lt. Ram. As per her grandfather's letter, Lt. Ram was from Madras regiment. So, after further searching, she gets a photo of Lt. Ram. There she also finds out about his friend Vikas. She visits him who tells her the story of Ram.
Now the movie goes to flashback in which Lt. Ram is introduced. He is in LOC and performing his duty while starving. There is not enough food for his army due to bad weather. Suddenly he sees a few people coming towards them. He thought that they are Kashmiri people, but his Senior named Vishnu think that they are terrorists and orders Ram to fire at them. Ram reluctantly fires but does not land any shot intentionally as he is sure that those are innocent Kashmiris, and he is right. Those people happened to be Kashmiri Muslims who had brought food for the Army. Ram's senior does not like this, and it is shown that he never liked Ram.
Then we are shown that the terrorist leader wants Indian Army to know about the young militants' location who had crossed the border in start of the movie. He wants the Indian army to kill them and become killers in the eyes of locals. This would cause chaos and riots in India and that was the real purpose of operation Gibraltar.
In the next scene, we are shown that the Indian military has already found out about those young militants, and they are discussing how to eliminate them before they can do something big. However, the method of getting this huge intel creates doubts in Ram's mind. But no one listens to him, and officer Vishnu sets out to kill those militants.
Vishnu does not choose Ram in his squad and kills 4 out of 5 militants. As the locals see the army killing unarmed teenagers, they get angry and start pelting stones at the army.
Using this situation as opportunity to incite riots, the terrorist leader influences the locals to burn a nearby Hindu village. Lt. Ram came to know about his plan and saved the village by capturing one of the terrorist leaders and proving to locals that the killed teenagers were actually terrorists.
As Lt. Ram saved so many lives and handled such a complicated situation so well, he started being praised everywhere. A lady from All India Radio takes his interview. In the interview Ram told her that he is an orphan.
While broadcasting this interview, the lady asked Indian citizens to write letters to him so that he can feel that he is not alone and the whole India is his family.
Then we see that Lt. Ram started getting a sackful of letters from all over India. Some considered him as his son, some considered him as brother but there was one letter that stands apart from the others, and it is from a woman named Sita Mahalakshmi.
In next scene, those militants are trying to cross a Pakistani checkpoint where a Pakistani Army officer named Abu Tariq stops them. The militants tell him that they are crossing the border for a secret mission. But he does not let them cross as he has not received any information regarding any such mission. Then he gets a call from one of the senior Pakistani officers who asked him to let them cross the checkpoint and not make entry in any records as this is a secret mission. So, he has to let them cross the checkpoint.
Now the story fast forward to the year 1985. Afreen is a Pakistani girl who is studying in London. She hates India and Indians. She shouts slogans against India whenever she sees any Indian. One day she sees a car with an Indian flag on it. She gets so upset that she sets the car on fire.
Unfortunately for her, the car she burned belonged to an Indian industrialist, Anand Mehta. He is sponsoring the education of many underprivileged students. The college administration asked her to apologise but she didn't listen. They wanted to expel her for her actions, but Mr. Mehta did not want her education to be affected. As per him, her hatred could only be ended with love. Afreen did not give a damn about that. So, he gave her two options, either she apologises to him for her actions or compensate him for the car, which cost 10 lakhs.
She agrees to pay compensation, but she does not have that much money with her. So, she decides to visit her grandfather in Pakistan as he is the only one who can give her that much money. She has never visited her grandfather since she came to London because she is angry with him as he sent her to London without her consent. But now she has no other options. So Afreen makes her way back to Pakistan to meet her grandfather. Here we come to know that her grandfather is Abu Tariq, the Pakistani Army officer who tried to stop the militants from crossing the border at the start of the movie.
But when she reaches her home, she finds out that her grandfather passed away months ago. Then she contacts his lawyer, and his lawyer tells her that he tried calling her, but she never answered. He says that her grandfather has left a letter for her. Her grandfather wrote that by the time she would get this letter, he would already be dead. But at his last moments he does not want to break the promise which he gave to his friend, lieutenant Ram, 20 years ago. Lt. Ram had given a letter to him to deliver to Sita Mahalakshmi. He was supposed to repay his debt by delivering this letter to her, but the letter was never delivered. Now it's Afreen's responsibility that she delivers this letter to Sita. As per the letter, Afreen owes it to Lt. Ram.
After reading the grandfather's letter, Afreen gets confused about what this letter from Ram to Sita is all about. Why and how his grandfather became a friend of an enemy soldier and why she owes anything to Lt. Ram. But then she lets it all go and asks his lawyer for money she is supposed to get after his grandfather's death. He tells her that as per her grandfather's will, she will get the inheritance only if she delivers Lt. Ram's letter to Sita.
Seeing no other option, she agrees to deliver the letter. She makes her way to India and gets help from one of her seniors, Balaji, for her task. When she reaches the address written on the letter, she finds out that the place is now a girls' college and as per their records, no one named Sita Mahalakshmi ever lived there. She searched all the possible places, but she was not able to get any information about Sita Mahalakshmi.
Unable to find any information about Sita, she decides to find out about Lt. Ram. As per her grandfather's letter, Lt. Ram was from Madras regiment. So, after further searching, she gets a photo of Lt. Ram. There she also finds out about his friend Vikas. She visits him who tells her the story of Ram.
Now the movie goes to flashback in which Lt. Ram is introduced. He is in LOC and performing his duty while starving. There is not enough food for his army due to bad weather. Suddenly he sees a few people coming towards them. He thought that they are Kashmiri people, but his Senior named Vishnu think that they are terrorists and orders Ram to fire at them. Ram reluctantly fires but does not land any shot intentionally as he is sure that those are innocent Kashmiris, and he is right. Those people happened to be Kashmiri Muslims who had brought food for the Army. Ram's senior does not like this, and it is shown that he never liked Ram.
Then we are shown that the terrorist leader wants Indian Army to know about the young militants' location who had crossed the border in start of the movie. He wants the Indian army to kill them and become killers in the eyes of locals. This would cause chaos and riots in India and that was the real purpose of operation Gibraltar.
In the next scene, we are shown that the Indian military has already found out about those young militants, and they are discussing how to eliminate them before they can do something big. However, the method of getting this huge intel creates doubts in Ram's mind. But no one listens to him, and officer Vishnu sets out to kill those militants.
Vishnu does not choose Ram in his squad and kills 4 out of 5 militants. As the locals see the army killing unarmed teenagers, they get angry and start pelting stones at the army.
Using this situation as opportunity to incite riots, the terrorist leader influences the locals to burn a nearby Hindu village. Lt. Ram came to know about his plan and saved the village by capturing one of the terrorist leaders and proving to locals that the killed teenagers were actually terrorists.
As Lt. Ram saved so many lives and handled such a complicated situation so well, he started being praised everywhere. A lady from All India Radio takes his interview. In the interview Ram told her that he is an orphan.
While broadcasting this interview, the lady asked Indian citizens to write letters to him so that he can feel that he is not alone and the whole India is his family.
Then we see that Lt. Ram started getting a sackful of letters from all over India. Some considered him as his son, some considered him as brother but there was one letter that stands apart from the others, and it is from a woman named Sita Mahalakshmi.
Love Story of Sita-Ramam:
It was written in the letter that "how could he say that he has no one when she is his wife?" Ram gets happy after reading the letter but also starts thinking that who is this girl who has sent him the letter as his wife. From the language of the letter, it is evident that she really loves him. He keeps getting letters from Sita but cannot reply as there was no address on the letter. He also started falling for her.One day he received a letter from Sita in which she wrote that she is going for a magic show on a certain date in Hyderabad. The stamp on the letter was from Delhi. So, Ram concludes that Sita lives in Delhi and is going to Hyderabad on the given date. So, he takes leave from duty and gets to Delhi railway station. There he catches the train that was going to Hyderabad and starts searching for Sita. After some time, he finds her on the train, and as soon as he sees her, he knows that she is the one he has been looking for. He hands her some letters that were answers to all the Sita's letters.
In one of the letters, he mentioned that he is staying in Hyderabad at a friend's home, she can meet him there if she wants to. The next day she showed up at the address. Ram is beyond delighted to see her and starts speaking his heart out. But Sita told him that she wrote those letters thinking she would never meet him in person. Though, she says that it would have been better that they did not meet, but her eyes were saying something else. Then she left.
Then the story comes to the present where Ram's friend Vikas tells Afreen that he doesn't know what happened next. He tells her that Ram's other friend Durjay might be able to help her.
While searching for Sita, Afreen also called Senior officer Vishnu who is going to retire soon. But when senior officer Vishnu came to know that someone was trying to get more information about Lt. Ram, he got worried and asked his subordinates to find out everything about the girl who is seeking information about Lt. Ram.
In the next scene, Afreen meets Durjay who continues the story where Vikas had left. We are again in flashback. Ram and Sita meet at the magic show, where he comes to know that Sita is a dance teacher for Princess Noorjahan.
In one of the letters, he mentioned that he is staying in Hyderabad at a friend's home, she can meet him there if she wants to. The next day she showed up at the address. Ram is beyond delighted to see her and starts speaking his heart out. But Sita told him that she wrote those letters thinking she would never meet him in person. Though, she says that it would have been better that they did not meet, but her eyes were saying something else. Then she left.
Then the story comes to the present where Ram's friend Vikas tells Afreen that he doesn't know what happened next. He tells her that Ram's other friend Durjay might be able to help her.
While searching for Sita, Afreen also called Senior officer Vishnu who is going to retire soon. But when senior officer Vishnu came to know that someone was trying to get more information about Lt. Ram, he got worried and asked his subordinates to find out everything about the girl who is seeking information about Lt. Ram.
In the next scene, Afreen meets Durjay who continues the story where Vikas had left. We are again in flashback. Ram and Sita meet at the magic show, where he comes to know that Sita is a dance teacher for Princess Noorjahan.
As their story progresses, both of them find themselves falling more and more in love. Meanwhile, Ram discovers that Sita is someone he has rescued during the mission which made him famous. Sita was in that Hindu village that was about to be burnt. During that process, Ram had called Sita his wife, to protect her. Sita has just continued that with her letters. After knowing this, Ram asks Sita to marry him, which leaves her stunned and she runs away without saying anything.
Then the story comes to the present where Durjay shows the photo of Sita to Afreen. Afreen goes to the girls' college to find out about Sita using her photo. But when she reaches the college, her eye stops at a painting of Sita but the name under the painting was written as princess Noorjahan. That’s when we come to know that Sita is, in fact, none other than Princess Noorjahan herself. She was unable to reveal her true identity to Ram. Here we also come to know why Abu Tariq was not able to send the letter to Sita in the last 20 years. As there was no actual Sita, the letter was returned back to Abu Tariq whenever he sent it to the recipient named Sita Mahalakshmi.
Then we get into the flashback again where Sita/Noorjahan is confused about what to do as She loves Ram, but she cannot marry him as she is a princess, and his family will not let her marry an ordinary man. Then things get more complicated for her as her family’s assets in Oman get seized by the royal family there, and her family adviser told her family that the only way to take back control of the assets is if the Prince of Oman agrees to marry Noorjahan. She cannot tell her family about Ram. So, her family agreed to the advisor's proposal and sent the marriage proposal to the Prince of Oman.
In the next scene we are shown that Ram and Sita meet again in Hyderabad. Ram tells her that he wants to meet everyone who sent him letters before he goes back to the LOC. She agrees to go with him. When he has met all of them, he tells Sita that he is leaving for the LOC the next day and wants to meet her at the railway station before he leaves. But she could not reach the railway station as some people from Oman had arrived at her palace. They come with news that the Prince of Oman has said yes to their marriage proposal.
Ram was unhappy but had to return to duty without meeting Sita one last time. But this is not the end for them. A reporter has taken photographs of Ram and Sita spending time with each other and published them in his newspaper stating that the princess is in love with an ordinary man. When the envoy from Oman comes to know about it, they question Noorjahan's family. As they were unaware, they asked Noorjahan about it; she accepts the truth and breaks off her engagement. Free of the shackles that bound her, she goes to Ram in Srinagar. They met and were very happy. The flashback ends here.
We are back to the present, where Afreen comes to know that Sita/Noorjahan is in Kashmir. So, she reaches Kashmir, but she gets arrested by the army on Senior officer Vishnu's order. Then she was questioned why she wants to know about Ram, a traitor, who is responsible for the death of 32 soldiers. She got confused as everyone she met had told that Ram was the true patriot. But the army is telling her that Ram was a traitor. Then senior officer Vishnu came to meet her. He tells her that Ram was not a traitor and actually he is indebted by Ram and her grandfather Abu Tariq as they saved his life.
Then the story comes to the present where Durjay shows the photo of Sita to Afreen. Afreen goes to the girls' college to find out about Sita using her photo. But when she reaches the college, her eye stops at a painting of Sita but the name under the painting was written as princess Noorjahan. That’s when we come to know that Sita is, in fact, none other than Princess Noorjahan herself. She was unable to reveal her true identity to Ram. Here we also come to know why Abu Tariq was not able to send the letter to Sita in the last 20 years. As there was no actual Sita, the letter was returned back to Abu Tariq whenever he sent it to the recipient named Sita Mahalakshmi.
Then we get into the flashback again where Sita/Noorjahan is confused about what to do as She loves Ram, but she cannot marry him as she is a princess, and his family will not let her marry an ordinary man. Then things get more complicated for her as her family’s assets in Oman get seized by the royal family there, and her family adviser told her family that the only way to take back control of the assets is if the Prince of Oman agrees to marry Noorjahan. She cannot tell her family about Ram. So, her family agreed to the advisor's proposal and sent the marriage proposal to the Prince of Oman.
In the next scene we are shown that Ram and Sita meet again in Hyderabad. Ram tells her that he wants to meet everyone who sent him letters before he goes back to the LOC. She agrees to go with him. When he has met all of them, he tells Sita that he is leaving for the LOC the next day and wants to meet her at the railway station before he leaves. But she could not reach the railway station as some people from Oman had arrived at her palace. They come with news that the Prince of Oman has said yes to their marriage proposal.
Ram was unhappy but had to return to duty without meeting Sita one last time. But this is not the end for them. A reporter has taken photographs of Ram and Sita spending time with each other and published them in his newspaper stating that the princess is in love with an ordinary man. When the envoy from Oman comes to know about it, they question Noorjahan's family. As they were unaware, they asked Noorjahan about it; she accepts the truth and breaks off her engagement. Free of the shackles that bound her, she goes to Ram in Srinagar. They met and were very happy. The flashback ends here.
We are back to the present, where Afreen comes to know that Sita/Noorjahan is in Kashmir. So, she reaches Kashmir, but she gets arrested by the army on Senior officer Vishnu's order. Then she was questioned why she wants to know about Ram, a traitor, who is responsible for the death of 32 soldiers. She got confused as everyone she met had told that Ram was the true patriot. But the army is telling her that Ram was a traitor. Then senior officer Vishnu came to meet her. He tells her that Ram was not a traitor and actually he is indebted by Ram and her grandfather Abu Tariq as they saved his life.
The story goes to flashback. Ram and Sita are in a restaurant with Senior officer Vishnu and his family. But suddenly, Rashul, the only militant who had escaped earlier, comes in and points a gun at Vishnu's head. But Ram was able to capture Rashul. Ram shows mercy towards Rashul and gets to know about the terrorist leader, Ansari.
Then in an army meeting, it was decided that Ansari needs to be eliminated. The mission would be a secret and if anyone is captured, he would be disowned by the country. Ram is enlisted for this secret mission. Though no one was supposed to reveal the details to anyone, Ram tells Sita about the secret mission. She gets scared but also remains hopeful that Ram will return back to her.
Then Ram and his soldiers cross the border and reach the location and eliminate Ansari. Mission gets completed but Ram hears a little girl's cry from the burning house, so he decides to save her. Ram goes back inside to rescue the little girl, who happens to be Waheeda. But in the process, Ram and Vishnu get caught by Pakistani officer Abu Tariq. They are taken hostage by the Pakistan Army and continuously tortured. But Abu Tariq comes to their rescue as he is a good man. With some of his efforts and Noorjahan’s influence in India combined, they broker a deal with the Pakistan Army-they must let Vishnu and Ram go in exchange for one of their soldiers in the Indian jail. But the Pakistan Army decides that only one of them can leave the jail. When Vishnu came to know that only one of them can leave, he started blaming Ram. We come to know that he is not mentally stable at this point because of continuous torcher. Then the flashback ends.
The senior officer Vishnu told Afreen that Ram told him to go back to India and he remained in Pakistan as a prisoner. He also said that in the same year Pakistan army attacked 12 Indian bases and killed 32 Indians soldiers. Then the Indian Intelligence Bureau got intel that Ram leaked these details to the Pakistani Army. But He knows that Ram would never do that. But suddenly he starts blaming Afreen for all these problems. He tells her that Ram got caught while saving her. She is the young Waheeda. Abu Tariq adopted her when he caught Ram while saving her. Then Afreen remembers the phrase "you owe it to Lt. Ram." from her grandfather Abu Tariq's letter. She comes to know that she is alive because of Lt. Ram. Now she is caught by the Army and cannot do anything about it.
But her senior, Balaji, has Ram's letter who finds the whereabouts of Sita who is still waiting for Ram in Kashmir. He meets her and gives Ram's letter to her. In his letter, Ram wrote that it's the last chapter of their love story. He also wrote that he is not a traitor, and she must believe him.
At the same time Senior Officer Vishnu is searching for Sita. The story goes in flashback where the Pakistan Army interrogates Ram and Vishnu, individually. The Pakistani Army offers them a deal that they will let them go if they would be willing to give up the coordinates of the Indian Army in Kashmir. Ram refuses, but Vishnu agrees and tells everything that he knows. So the Pakistani Army releases Vishnu.
This information was mentioned in the letter and that is the reason why Senior Officer Vishnu does not want Afreen to meet Sita or let her give that letter to Sita.
The letter also reveals that Ram was hanged in Pakistan 20 years ago. There was a paper cutting with that letter which revealed that Ram knew that Sita is not an ordinary girl but a princess.
In the next scene, it was revealed to the world that Ram was a patriot, and it was Vishnu who shared intel with the Pakistan Army. The senior officer Vishnu committed suicide out of guilt and also due to being unable to face the subsequent shame that would come with the truth.
Then Afreen meets Sita and comes to know that Ram is not alive. In the next scene, we see that the Army is honouring Ram for his bravery and Sita is collecting medals on his behalf.
Afreen is now a changed person. She is not a girl with hatred towards India. She appreciates Indians' humanity. So, she apologises to Anand Mehta for her actions. Now she works towards the release of war prisoners. The movie ends here.
After a long time, we get to see such a good love story that explains the meaning of real love and tells that whether you stay together or not, love should remain intact. At the beginning of the film, it seemed that it would also be like other love stories, but by the end, it made us emotional. The film doesn't bore even for a second. The choice of words in its dialogue and their delivery is very beautiful. Overall, this whole film is very beautiful. This movie started with a girl who hated her neighbour country but her quest to deliver a letter became a transformative journey for her and gave us one of the most beautiful, sincere and unadulterated love stories.
How do you like this movie explanation? Please share your feedback in the comment section.
Click here to read this recap in Hindi.
Thank You!
The letter also reveals that Ram was hanged in Pakistan 20 years ago. There was a paper cutting with that letter which revealed that Ram knew that Sita is not an ordinary girl but a princess.
In the next scene, it was revealed to the world that Ram was a patriot, and it was Vishnu who shared intel with the Pakistan Army. The senior officer Vishnu committed suicide out of guilt and also due to being unable to face the subsequent shame that would come with the truth.
Then Afreen meets Sita and comes to know that Ram is not alive. In the next scene, we see that the Army is honouring Ram for his bravery and Sita is collecting medals on his behalf.
Afreen is now a changed person. She is not a girl with hatred towards India. She appreciates Indians' humanity. So, she apologises to Anand Mehta for her actions. Now she works towards the release of war prisoners. The movie ends here.
After a long time, we get to see such a good love story that explains the meaning of real love and tells that whether you stay together or not, love should remain intact. At the beginning of the film, it seemed that it would also be like other love stories, but by the end, it made us emotional. The film doesn't bore even for a second. The choice of words in its dialogue and their delivery is very beautiful. Overall, this whole film is very beautiful. This movie started with a girl who hated her neighbour country but her quest to deliver a letter became a transformative journey for her and gave us one of the most beautiful, sincere and unadulterated love stories.
How do you like this movie explanation? Please share your feedback in the comment section.
Click here to read this recap in Hindi.
Thank You!