In 1920, during the British Raj, administrator Scott Buxton and his wife Catherine visit a forest in Adilabad, where they abduct Malli, a young girl with a talent for artistry, from the Gond tribe. Enraged by the act, the tribe's guardian Komaram Bheem, embarks to Delhi with the intent of rescuing her, under the guise of Muslim man named Akhtar. Elsewhere, the Nizamate of Hyderabad, sympathetic to the Raj, warns Scott's office of the impending danger. Undeterred, Catherine enlists the assistance of A. Rama Raju, an ambitious officer in the Indian Imperial Police to quell the threat. Embarking on his new assignment, Raju and his uncle, Venkateswarulu, attend several pro-independence gatherings in the hopes of finding clues. His opinions attract the attention of Lachhu, Bheem's gullible aide.

Falling for Raju's trickery, he attempts to induct him into Bheem's plot, only to flee when he discovers his true identity. A short while later, both Bheem and Raju encounter each other; unaware of their opposing identities and intentions, they unite to save a boy from a train wreck, sparking a friendship between the two. Over time, the two grow close to each other. Raju subsequently assists Bheem in courting Jenny, Scott's niece, unaware of his intention to infiltrate Scott's residence. When Jenny takes Bheem to her residence, Bheem locates the room where Malli is being held in captivity; he meets Malli and promises Malli that he will free her. Meanwhile, Raju deduces Lachhu's covert identity and whereabouts; he subsequently apprehends him. While interrogating him, Lachhu goads a banded krait into attacking Raju; he thereafter warns him of his imminent fate and that the antidote is only known to the Gonds.

Dazed, Raju approaches Bheem, who immediately tends to him. Noticing similar religious features between Lachhu and Bheem, Raju deduces his true intentions. Regardless, Bheem divulges his tribal identity and his mission, still unaware of Raju's covert identity. At an event held in Scott's honor, Bheem's men barge into his residence with a lorry filled with wild animals, which creates havoc among the assembled guests. The animals maul Scott's guards, allowing Bheem to briefly fight; however, Raju arrives and subsequently discloses to him of Scott's intention to kill Malli; he surrenders out of obligation. In the aftermath of the incident, Raju is promoted for thwarting Bheem, yet, he is absorbed with guilt over his own actions, recalling his own pro-nationalistic background and his actual alter-ego as a mole within the police; he was seeking a promotion in order to gain access to shipments of guns to smuggle to his village.

At Bheem's public flogging, Raju attempts to persuade him into recanting his actions; the former chooses to be flogged instead. Resisting his injuries, Bheem sings in defiance, which incites an assembled crowd into rebelling. The riot further enlightens Raju, who finally realizes the recklessness of his actions. Determined to save his friend, he persuades Scott to secretly execute Bheem whilst preparing an ambush to save him; nevertheless, Scott deduces his plot. Whilst managing to rescue Malli from Scott's men, Raju is grievously injured. Bheem, who had simultaneously managed to free himself, mistakenly interprets Raju's actions as an attempt to kill Malli; he bludgeons him before escaping with her. Months later, Bheem, who had escaped with Malli to Hathras, is cornered by the colonial authorities; he narrowly avoids being exposed when Sita, Raju's fiancée, repels them by claiming of a smallpox epidemic as a pretext.

Unaware of Bheem's identity, she reveals Raju's actual, anti-colonial objectives and of his impending execution. Crestfallen upon realizing his own folly, Bheem vows to save him. With the assistance of a sympathetic Jenny, Bheem infiltrates the barracks where Raju is detained and frees him, alerting multiple soldiers in the process. Defeating them, the pair retreat to a nearby forest, where they decimate more soldiers with the use of a longbow taken from a Ram shrine. Taking the fight to Scott, the pair hurl a flaming motorcycle into the barracks' magazines, which consequently ignites. The subsequent explosion kills many within Scott's company, including Catherine. Having finally cornered a wounded Scott, Raju has Bheem execute him with an English rifle, fulfilling their respective objectives. They subsequently steal a cache of Scott's weaponry, later reuniting with Sita and Jenny.

In honor of completing their respective missions, Raju asks Bheem to let him grant a wish for him, to which, Bheem asks Raju to provide education to him and his community.