Kaala Naksha — Thriller &
Suspense Feature (outline + Act 1)
KAALA NAKSHA (The Black Map)
Genre: Thriller / Suspense / Neo‑Noir
Language: Hinglish (Dialogues in Roman Hindi)
Setting: Kolkata, monsoon season, present day
Intended Runtime: ~150 minutes (2.5 hours)
Logline
Ek investigative journalist aur ek
cynical ACP ko Kolkata ke purane maps par chhode gaye cryptic clues follow
karne padte hain, jab ek masked killer—“The Cartographer”—har clue ke saath nayi
laash chhod deta hai. Jaise‑jaise raaz khulte hain, journalist ko samajh aata
hai ki yeh shikaar uski apni 16 saal purani zindagi se juda hai—and the final
location is the one place she swore she’d never return.
🎭
Suggested Casting (Indicative)
·
Ayaanaa Roy
(28, investigative journalist) → Taapsee
Pannu / Mrunal Thakur (sharp, determined,
emotionally layered).
·
ACP Arindam
Sen (42, weary cop) → Kay Kay Menon
/ Manoj Bajpayee (gritty presence, cynical
yet heroic).
·
Anurag Mitra
(50, urbane editor) → Naseeruddin Shah
/ Pankaj Kapur (charismatic but morally
grey).
·
Ishan Deb
(30, hacker friend) → Vikrant Massey
/ Ishaan Khatter (youthful, witty,
techie).
·
The
Cartographer / Nilanjan Bose (45, ex-GIS officer) → Adil Hussain / Irrfan (if alive, tone reference).
·
MLA Rakesh
Poddar (48, political fixer) → Paresh
Rawal / Kumud Mishra.
·
Madhabi Basu
(55, archivist) → Seema Pahwa / Ratna Pathak Shah.
· Montu (12, street photographer) → newcomer child actor (natural, raw).
KAALA NAKSHA (The Black Map)
Genre: Thriller / Suspense / Neo-Noir
Language: Hinglish (Dialogues in Roman Hindi)
Runtime: ~150 minutes (2.5 hours)
ACT 1 — FULL DETAILED SCREENPLAY (~40 minutes)
FADE
IN:
EXT.
KOLKATA – TRAM YARD – NIGHT
Heavy monsoon rain. Rusted trams
stand like dead beasts. Sodium lamps flicker. A MASKED FIGURE carefully pins a
torn VINTAGE MAP on a wall. A red string arcs to TRAM LINE 7.
A MAN (late 30s) sprints, slipping
on wet gravel. Breathing hard. Fear on his face. The masked figure simply
watches.
MASKED FIGURE (V.O., distorted)
Shahar tabhi samajh aata hai jab tum bhatak jao.
The man looks back, panicked. A TRAM
horn BLARES. He slips again—falls directly across the tracks. The tram lights
engulf him.
CRASH!
Blood mixes with rainwater.
SLAM CUT TO BLACK.
INT.
NEWSROOM – NIGHT
UPS units hum. Rain lashes against
glass. Reporters bustle. At her desk, AYAANAA ROY (28) edits a power‑cut
story. She sips cold coffee. A ring mark stains the table.
Her editor ANURAG MITRA (50),
polished, urbane, steps in.
ANURAG
Ayaanaa, thoda softness daalo. TRP audience ko drama chahiye, itna khurdura
sach nahi.
AYAANAA
Agar sach ko soft kar diya toh jhooth ki salary badh jaayegi, sir.
Anurag chuckles, tapping a dusty
file marked “ARCHIVES: SEALED.”
ANURAG
Kabhi kabhi sawal band rakhna bhi journalism hota hai.
Ayaanaa stares—unmoved. A storm
growls outside.
EXT.
RAINY STREET – NIGHT
Ayaanaa exits. Street bathed in
yellow lamps. She stops at a tea stall. A skinny boy, MONTU (12), clicks
photos on his battered phone.
MONTU
Didi, dekho—tram yard ki light chali gayi. (shows blurry photo)
Ayaanaa smiles, ties a spare strap
to his phone.
AYAANAA
Photo seedha rakho. Shehar ghoomega tab bhi tumhaari kahaani seedhi rahegi.
Thunder. Her phone BUZZES: “COURIER
ARRIVED.”
INT.
AYAANAA’S ROOM – LATE NIGHT
Small PG room. Damp walls. Ayaanaa
opens a flat package: inside, an old KOLKATA MAP. A burner phone
drops out, RINGS.
She answers, cautious.
AYAANAA
Hello?
CARTOGRAPHER (PHONE, distorted)
Shahar ka pehla naasha—jahaan rail patri pani ko kaat ti hai.
AYAANAA
Kaun ho tum?
CARTOGRAPHER
90 minute mein jawab mila toh kisi ki jaan bachegi.
CLICK. Silence. Ayaanaa stares at
the map. A faint coffee ring circles TRAM LINE 7.
EXT.
TRAM STOP – PRE‑DAWN
Rain thinning. Empty benches,
flickering lamp. Chalk arrow points down a gully.
Ayaanaa follows. From the other
side, ACP ARINDAM SEN (42) enters, raincoat dripping.
SEN
Tumhi ho Ayaanaa Roy? Tumhe yahan kisne bheja?
AYAANAA
Map… aur ek awaaz jo time ginti kar rahi hai.
Police radio CRACKLES: “Body found
near Kumartuli.”
Sen eyes her sharply. They walk.
EXT.
KUMARTULI LANE – DAWN
Narrow lanes. Clay idols under blue
tarps. Police tape flutters. A corpse lies on wet cobbles. BODY #2. On
his arm: carved coordinates.
Ayaanaa kneels, notices clean water
trickling from nostrils.
AYAANAA
Yeh river ka paani nahi hai. Yeh treated supply hai.
SEN
Tum media ho ya forensic officer? Door raho.
AYAANAA
Main media hoon isliye wahi dekh rahi hoon jo aap miss kar rahe ho.
Nearby, a DOG licks rainwater
pooling around a BRASS COMPASS. Ayaanaa carefully lifts it.
AYAANAA
North ka needle atka hua hai. Ya phir… kisi ne direction badal di.
Sen pockets the compass. Their eyes
lock—mistrust.
INT.
MORGUE – MORNING
Cold room. Pathologist shows Sen
lungs of victim.
PATHOLOGIST
Water lungs mein hai, lekin river ka nahi. Yeh treated supply line ka lagta
hai.
SEN
Pipeline kis area se cross karti hai tram line ko?
Ayaanaa, silently, types text to ISHAN
DEB (30): “Overlay tram line 7 vs treated water grid.”
EXT.
COLLEGE STREET – DAY
Bookstalls crowd the street. Ayaanaa
meets MADHABI BASU (55), archivist.
MADHABI
Yeh shehar ka DNA hai. Purane nakshay sach chhupate nahi.
She unrolls a cadastral map.
Ayaanaa’s eyes freeze at a familiar signature: Justice Ritabrat a Roy—her
late father.
Her hand trembles.
EXT.
INDIAN MUSEUM – DUSK
Evening drizzle. A dinosaur
skeleton’s shadow stretches across courtyard. Ayaanaa follows the shadow’s tip
to a bench. Taped beneath: map scrap + boat ticket + note: “WATER
REMEMBERS.”
Press rushes. Cameras flash. Phone
rings—Anurag.
ANURAG (PHONE)
Bas jitna zaroori hai utna likho. Hero ban’ne ki zaroorat nahi.
AYAANAA
Sponsor ya sach? Decide aapko karna hai.
She cuts the call.
EXT.
BOAT GHAT – NIGHT
Black river. Dim bulbs. Ayaanaa
boards. Only one duffel bag sits. It RINGS. She opens—inside, a phone.
CARTOGRAPHER (PHONE)
Shahar ki lakes jodo toh ek rekha tumhare ghar tak jaati hai, Ayaanaa Roy.
Ayaanaa stiffens. On pier, Sen
shouts.
SEN
Wapas aao! Yeh decoy hai!
BOOM! Explosion under pier. Smoke, screams. Ayaanaa dives flat.
Phone goes dead.
INT.
NEWSROOM – LATE NIGHT
Ayaanaa storms into Anurag’s office.
He calmly closes blinds.
ANURAG
Tum sochti ho kahaani tumhari hai. Par jo छapta hai woh system decide karta hai.
Ayaanaa glares, silent.
INT.
TRAM DEPOT – NIGHT
Police cordon. Tip-off: Cartographer
inside. Sen commands raid. Ayaanaa sneaks in.
Dark aisles. Hissing gas. A figure
grabbed—mask pulled. WRONG MAN. FIREBALL ERUPTS. Ayaanaa thrown. Cameras
flash.
COP
Media waali ne cordon tod diya! Sab uski wajah se hua!
Phones capture Ayaanaa’s face. Viral
image.
Sen sees Ayaanaa, helpless. Both
realize—this game just levelled up.
SMASH TO BLACK.
END OF ACT 1.
SCREENPLAY (Act 2 — ~55 minutes)
Note: Continues right after the tram‑depot blast and frame‑up.
Hinglish dialogues (Roman Hindi). Scene numbers continue.
21.
EXT. TRAM DEPOT – AFTERMATH – NIGHT
Sirens. Rain like needles. Ayaanaa
slips into the shadows as cops swarm. Sen barks orders—ignored by a
grandstanding DCP.
DCP
Media ko andar kisne aane diya? Sen, suspension ki request ja rahi hai.
SEN (low)
Request nahi—judgement suna diya.
Ayaanaa ducks behind a dead tram,
dials—
AYAANAA (PHONE, whisper)
Ishan, mujhe pick karo. Abhi.
22.
INT. DCP OFFICE / POLICE HQ – NIGHT
A file thumps: “SUSPENSION – ACP
ARINDAM SEN.”
DCP
Aap political narrative disturb kar rahe the. House committee ko jawab dena
hoga.
SEN
Narrative ko sach barbad karta hai—committee ko nahi.
He removes his badge. Leaves without
saluting.
23.
INT. ISHAN’S SAFE FLAT – NIGHT
Dark room, maps on floor. Ishan
boots up 3 monitors. The vintage map under a table lamp reveals faint water
rings.
ISHAN
Yeh coffee ring nahi—treated‑water ke chlorination ke stains. “Grid shift”
cipher.
He overlays tram line, water
pipelines, cadastral grid. The rings align into a diamond.
AYAANAA
Diamond ka south point?
ISHAN
Shobhabazar… ek rajbari. North point—decommissioned printing press.
AYAANAA
City ke daagon ka press.
24.
MONTAGE – CITY AS PUZZLE – NIGHT
– Ayaanaa/Ishan tracing blue‑tinted
pipeline maps with projector pen.
– Sen, plainclothes, photographing Poddar’s convoy from a bus.
– Street kid Montu snapping candid shots of a man handing over a ledger‑like
parcel near College Street.
25.
INT. SHOBHABAZAR RAJBARI – NIGHT (PARTY)
Classical music, politicians, art
patrons. Ayaanaa in a simple saree, Ishan as caterer. MLA RAKESH PODDAR
shakes hands. ANURAG mingles, laughing.
AYAANAA (into mic of earbud)
Target is Poddar’s fixer. Naam?
ISHAN (comm)
Unka shadow—BIKASH DUTTA. Security se kaafi close.
Ayaanaa bumps a waiter—pocketing a brass
key‑fob embossed with a printer’s mark.
26.
INT. CITY ARCHIVE – LATE NIGHT
Archivist Madhabi Basu
unlocks a steel cabinet with a similar printer’s mark.
MADHABI
Tum dono ka waqt kam hai. Yeh “Land Swap Ledger”—illegal parcel transfers,
pipeline diversions… aur yeh dekh—
A page stamped “SEALED BY ORDER –
JUSTICE RITABRATA ROY.”
Ayaanaa’s breath catches.
AYAANAA
Mere baba… kyu?
MADHABI
Kabhi kabhi judge ko galat data diya jaata hai. Kisi ne city ka naksha badla,
sach chhupa diya.
A distant footstep. Madhabi
stiffens.
27.
EXT. ARCHIVE LANE – CONTINUOUS
Goons approach. Sen’s bike skids in;
he tosses a helmet to Ayaanaa.
SEN
Evidence ke bina tum bas villains ko funny banaogi. Chalo!
Chase through puddled lanes. Ishan
lobs marbles—goons slip. They vanish into rain.
28.
INT. NEWSROOM – NIGHT
Anurag closes blinds as Ayaanaa
confronts him with a photocopy of the ledger page.
ANURAG
Ye kaghaz tumhari kahaani nahi badlega. Par tumhari job zaroor.
AYAANAA
Job ke liye main apni zubaan bechne nahi aayi.
A text pings on her phone from an
unknown number: “WATER REMEMBERS. GRID E‑8.”
29.
INT. CITY ARCHIVE – PRE‑DAWN
Lights flicker. Ayaanaa, Sen, Ishan
return—cabinets wrecked. Madhabi on the floor, lifeless. On the wall,
carved with an awl: E‑8 inside a circle.
SEN (gutted)
Hum late ho gaye.
Ayaanaa picks a small pendant—Madhabi’s,
imprinted with a tiny compass rose.
30.
EXT. RAINY INTERSECTION – DAWN
The old hit‑and‑run site.
Ayaanaa stands mid‑road as trams hiss by.
AYAANAA (V.O.)
Us raat ko baba ne jo order pass kiya… kisi aur ki likhayi thi.
Sen stands a few paces away—silent
witness.
SEN
Guilt ke saath truth ko mix mat karo. Truth ko akela rehne do.
31.
INT. SEN’S APARTMENT – MORNING
Sparse. A radio hums. Sen cleans an
old service revolver.
SEN
Poddar ko main court mein nahi, purane press mein milunga. System ke bahar hi
system ke log milte hain.
He hands Ayaanaa a photocopy:
Dutta’s face from a 2010 water‑board photo.
32.
INT. SAFE FLAT – DAY
Ishan processes Montu’s photos—zooms
into a reflection: Dutta carrying a wrapped ledger outside the
archive hours before the murder.
ISHAN
Time‑stamp mil gaya. Montu ke bina hum blind the.
He overlays grid E‑8—a
defunct WATER TREATMENT PLANT aligning with the printing press
north point.
33.
INT./EXT. WATER TREATMENT PLANT – DUSK
Rust and echo. Footprints in silt. A
dangling mask hook—same kind as the Cartographer’s. A red string on the
floor forms a neat arrow.
AYAANAA
Woh yahin tha.
VOICE (O.S., distorted)
Aur tum bhi.
The CARTOGRAPHER appears in
silhouette above—then vanishes, leaving a map plate with an etched
message: “North ko tod do—tabhi south khulega.”
34.
INT. NEWSROOM SERVER ROOM – NIGHT
Ishan plugs a USB. Audio files from
years ago—Anurag instructing a junior to “kill” a land‑swap story; a
payment trail mention.
ISHAN
Chain—Anurag → Dutta → Poddar. Aur beech mein ek printing press.
35.
EXT. RIVER GHAT – NIGHT
A fisherman hands Montu a found pendant—Madhabi’s.
Montu runs to Ayaanaa.
MONTU
Didi, yeh pani ne wapas de diya.
AYAANAA (soft)
Water remembers.
She aligns the pendant’s compass
rose over the map plate—a hidden notch lines up, revealing
coordinate digits.
36.
INT. ISHAN’S SAFE FLAT – LATE NIGHT
They assemble coordinates. A
triangle locks: Printing Press – Water Plant – Rajbari.
SEN
Trikon ka center hi asli target hai—Press.
AYAANAA
Wahin se kahaaniyan chhapti thi. Aur wahi se sach bhi chhapega.
They gear up: headlamps, recorder,
Montu’s pocket projector.
END ACT 2.
SCREENPLAY (Act 3 — ~55 minutes)
Note: The finale converges at the decommissioned printing press.
Maps, water, and memory motifs resolve.
37.
EXT. ABANDONED PRINTING PRESS – NIGHT
A hulking brick building. Rain
threads like ink. A faint generator hum.
SEN (whisper)
No backup. Bas hum teen… aur ek bachcha jo bahut bada kaam karta hai.
Montu grins, scared but set. They
slip inside.
38.
INT. PRESS – GROUND FLOOR – NIGHT
Cathedral‑high hall. LINOTYPE
MACHINES like sleeping beasts. On a conveyor: The CARTOGRAPHER,
wrists bound, mask still on, rigged to a slow rotating drum.
DUTTA (O.S.)
Shahar ke nakshon se khelne ki saza—press mein piskaai.
AYAANAA
Dutta!
DUTTA steps out with two men. From the shadows—ANURAG.
ANURAG
Ayaanaa, tum samajhti nahi. City ko chalane ke liye compromises chahiye.
SEN
Compromise aur crime mein ek line hoti hai. Tumne line tod di.
39.
INT. PRESS – CATWALKS – CONTINUOUS
Anurag signals; men fan out. Sen
engages—precise, brutal. Ayaanaa climbs the catwalk towards the Cartographer.
AYAANAA (to Cartographer)
Tum killer nahi ho, right?
CARTOGRAPHER (muffled)
Main naksha seedha karta hoon. Kaatna kisi aur ka kaam hai.
She cuts a strap; a TIMER
beeps faster.
40.
INT. CONTROL ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Ishan hacks a dusty panel. Old
valves mapped to pipeline schematics.
ISHAN (comm)
Yeh press ke neeche treated‑water ka bypass hai. Agar Dutta ne blast set kiya,
toh yahin se flood hoga.
He spots a compass emblem—north
misaligned.
ISHAN
“North ko tod do…”—matlab valve ko reverse karna hoga.
41.
INT. PRESS – FLOOR – CONTINUOUS
Dutta corners Sen. Fists and
wrenches. Anurag yells into a phone—“MLA saab, 10 minutes.”
DUTTA (to Sen)
Tumhare jaise logon ne hi system ko bekar banaya.
SEN
Aur tum jaise logon ne usse bech diya.
Sen takes a heavy hit, staggers. He
sees the broken‑north brass compass (from Act 1) on a table. He flings
it to Ayaanaa.
SEN
Align it!
Ayaanaa slots the compass into the
control wheel—CLACK—a hidden pin depresses.
Deep below, VALVES THUNDER.
The timer’s pitch drops.
42.
INT. PRESS – CATWALKS / DRUM – CONTINUOUS
Ayaanaa tears the last strap, pulls
the mask—
REVEAL: NILANJAN BOSE (45), ex‑municipal GIS officer, anguished but clear‑eyed.
NILANJAN (raspy)
Ledger bahar nikalna tha. Laashein kisi aur ne chhodi. Maine bas deewar par
sach likha.
AYAANAA
Kisne maara?
NILANJAN
Dutta. Aur jisko tum boss kehti ho—Anurag—ne sab cover kiya.
43.
INT. PRESS – NEWSROOM FLOOR (OLD) – NIGHT
An old PROJECTOR ROOM. Montu
sets up his pocket projector, hands shaking.
MONTU
Didi, main ready hoon.
Ayaanaa loads the ledger plates
Nilanjan hid inside a drawer—etched metal pages.
AYAANAA (to Ishan)
Signal bhejo—jitne screens mil sake.
44.
EXT. STREET OUTSIDE PRESS – NIGHT
Billboards flicker. Ishan pushes a
script—citywide digital hoardings blink to a monochrome feed. Residents
stop under umbrellas.
CROWD (murmurs)
Kya ho raha hai… yeh kaunse papers…
45.
INT. PRESS – CENTRAL HALL – NIGHT
Anurag storms in with a pistol.
ANURAG
Band karo yeh nautanki. Tum career destroy kar rahi ho.
AYAANAA
Career nahi—cancer.
ANURAG (snaps)
Dutta!
Dutta lunges for the projector
cable. Sen tackles him; both crash onto a moving conveyor. A PRINT
PLATE slices Dutta’s forearm; he howls; Sen locks his wrist with a cable
tie.
46.
INT. PRESS – CONTROL / VALVES – CONTINUOUS
Alarms rise. A pipe ruptures, WATER
SPRAYS like white ink. Ishan reroutes pressure, keeping machines alive just
enough to project and print.
ISHAN
Thirty seconds ka stable window. Bas.
47.
EXT. STREET / SOCIAL FEED – CONTINUOUS
The ledger scrolls across
giant screens; names, amounts, parcel IDs. People film on phones. Hashtags
flip.
CROWD VOICES
Poddar… Dutta… Anurag…
48.
INT. PRESS – CENTRAL HALL – CONTINUOUS
Anurag points the pistol at Ayaanaa.
Nilanjan steps in front.
NILANJAN
Map pe goli chalaoge, to shehar tumhe kabhi bhoolne nahi dega.
A PHONE FLASH—Montu clicks a
crisp frame: Anurag with gun, Dutta restrained, plates projecting.
Sirens grow—POLICE FLEET arrives,
led by the DCP—stunned by the live evidence.
DCP (into radio)
Sab kuch record ho raha hai. Arrest them.
Cops disarm Anurag and haul Dutta.
49.
EXT. PRESS – DAWN
Rain softens. The crowd outside
watches as officers escort Poddar’s car to the gate—stopped by protesters.
SEN (to DCP)
Meri suspension?
DCP
Kal tak thi. Aaj se—investigating officer.
Sen nods once. No smile—just relief.
50.
INT. OLD PRESS – MORNING LIGHT
Ayaanaa interviews Nilanjan on a
crate.
AYAANAA
Tumne laash kyu stage ki?
NILANJAN
Taaki kisse sunne ke liye log zor se cheechein. Tabhi shehar jagta hai.
AYAANAA
Ab shehar padhega.
She turns to Montu—
AYAANAA
Tera photo front page pe hoga.
Montu beams.
51.
EXT. CITY STREETS – MORNING
A mobile STREET PROJECTION
continues on a whitewashed wall. Ayaanaa’s byline fades up. Headlines: “WATER
REMEMBERS: How a City Was Redrawn.”
V.O. – AYAANAA
Mere baba ka order galat data par tha—unke irade par nahi. Maps ko jhootha
banaya gaya tha. Aaj humne unhe seedha kiya.
Sen steps beside her. The broken‑north
compass finally points true in her palm.
SEN
Shahar ab tumhare bina bhi seedha rahega.
AYAANAA (smiles)
Nahi. Ab har kisi ke saath.
FADE OUT.
END CREDITS.
Done! Act 2 & Act 3 ka full
scene-by-scene screenplay maine canvas par add kar diya—same Hinglish (Roman)
tone, tight sluglines, and payoff for all clues/props.
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