Patriot (film)

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The film opens with victims describing how their lives were destroyed by Periscope, a military-grade spyware secretly bought by the Indian government. Journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens speak about surveillance, intimidation, and blackmail, while a government official dismisses privacy concerns by claiming that “only people with something to hide demand privacy.” The controversy reaches central minister Nalini Ramakrishnan, who confronts defense minister J.P. Sundaram aka JPS, and threatens to expose the illegal use of Periscope against civilians. Before undergoing surgery, Nalini secretly meets Dr. Daniel James, a Defence Research Wing scientist who helped authorise Periscope, and reveals that JPS plans to transfer the spyware’s control to his son Shakthi Sundaram’s IT company, Shakthi Solutions. She asks Daniel to retrieve the complete list of citizens targeted by the spyware.

Daniel secretly smuggles the classified data out of his office and begins investigating the misuse of Periscope with the help of cybersecurity researchers Dr. Ayesha Iqbal and Dr. Scott Jenkins in the UK, who also offer him a university teaching position in London. During their investigation, Daniel learns that Nalini has mysteriously died from a sudden infection after surgery, making him suspect foul play. He later attends a summit hosted by Shakthi Solutions, where he meets Shakthi Sundaram, a charismatic and highly intelligent tech entrepreneur presenting a nationwide digital welfare initiative called Samaj Seva. The film reveals that Shakthi was once an Air Force cadet whose life Daniel and his assistant Michael Devassy saved during a catastrophic cockpit fire years earlier, though JPS later forced him to leave the Air Force and enter the tech world for political gain.

Daniel informs DRW chief Sreedharan that he possesses the Periscope target list and intends to expose the entire operation if it is privatised. However, Sreedharan betrays him by informing JPS, turning Daniel into a target. Daniel soon realises he is being tracked through surveillance devices and operatives monitoring his movements. After destroying evidence and narrowly escaping pursuers, he resigns from his government position, accepts the teaching role in London, and flees India. During his escape, he uploads a YouTube vlog under the alias “Vimathan” (“Dissident”), publicly admitting that Periscope was sanctioned under his signature. He confesses that the spyware was meant for national security but was instead used against innocent citizens, including Nalini, and leaks the entire surveillance target list online.

Two years later, Daniel lives in exile in London with Ayesha, working as a professor while running a popular YouTube channel focused on surveillance and digital privacy. During one of his broadcasts, he discusses Athira, a 16-year-old girl from Kerala falsely accused of selling explicit photos online after using a government-issued laptop infected with Periscope spyware. Her father, trapped in debt from a loan app owned by Shakthi Solutions, commits suicide after the scandal destroys their family. Daniel publicly accuses Shakthi Solutions of exploiting vulnerable citizens through surveillance, blackmail, and financial manipulation. Soon afterward, he receives the phone of Jyothi Kurian, a deceased Shakthi Solutions data analyst who had been investigating the spyware.

Through flashbacks, the film reveals that Jyothi was the girlfriend of Michael, who now works for Shakthi Solutions as his secretary. Unlike Shakthi, Michael remains deeply conflicted about the misuse of surveillance technology. While helping Athira’s family, Jyothi discovers that the Periscope spyware is hidden in the government-issued laptops and learns from Michael that Shakthi Solutions has unrestricted access to users’ devices. When Jyothi uncovers evidence linking the company directly to Periscope, Shakthi orders Michael to ensure that she “doesn’t speak to anyone.” Michael tries to warn her after discovering her phone has been hacked, but Jyothi cuts ties with him, believing he chose loyalty to Shakthi over her safety. Soon afterward, she mysteriously dies, and Daniel later realises both Jyothi and Nalini were likely assassinated using VX nerve poisoning.

Determined to expose Shakthi publicly, Daniel attends a YouTubers’ summit sponsored by Shakthi Solutions and reveals the confidential agreement transferring Periscope’s control to the corporation for ten years. Furious, Shakthi shuts down the event and later arranges Daniel’s kidnapping at the airport using VX poison and a body double to fake CCTV footage. However, Daniel survives after secretly taking an antidote and awakens aboard a private aircraft transporting him back to India. Despite being weakened, he fights off the kidnappers and escapes by parachuting into the Arabian Sea near to Karnataka , later tweeting: “Vimathan has completed his exile.” Meanwhile, Ayesha uncovers the kidnapping conspiracy with the help of Raghu and learns that Daniel is secretly operating underground in India.

Shakthi eventually realises that Daniel is being helped by Colonel Rahim Naik, a bedridden former military instructor and Daniel’s closest friend who had once trained both Michael and Shakthi in the Air Force. Years earlier, Rahim had been blamed for a failed military operation that killed twelve soldiers and made him lost his right leg, causing the system to abandon him. After Daniel is rescued near Mangaluru by fishermen connected to Rahim, Michael defects from Shakthi Solutions and joins Daniel and Rahim. Together, the three form the core resistance against Shakthi’s surveillance empire while being relentlessly hunted across Karnataka. They reach a military nursing home in Kannur where Danny has to undergo a blood transfusion to remove the remaining poison from his blood. Danny requests Rahim to ensure Athira's safety since her testimony is important in the case against Shakthi Solutions and Rahim leaves for Kochi. While undergoing blood transfusion, Danny instructs Michael to use Periscope against its creators, exposing evidence of corruption, illegal surveillance, sexual assault cover-ups, and Nalini’s murder, sparking nationwide outrage against Shakthi and JPS.

Meanwhile, Rahim and his team arrive at the hospital where Athira is being treated. Rahim notices that assassins hired by Shakthi have entered the hospital under fake IDs and are waiting for the guard's shift to end so that they can kill her. Rahim warns the guard about the impending attack. After revealing his identity, the guard lets him in while holding off the assassins for a brief moment as Rahim tries to move Athira out of the hospital. Rahim manages to divert the assassins by making them believe he is taking her into an elevator. They follow him, while in reality, the person in the wheelchair is one of the assassins whom Rahim has knocked down, allowing his team to successfully escape with Athira. Rahim fights them inside the elevator and kills them using a dagger hidden in his walking stick. However, he is also stabbed multiple times during the fight and succumbs to his injuries. Danny and Michael rush to the hospital upon hearing the news of Rahim's death, and the guard briefs them about the incident. Danny checks the CCTV footage and notices that Rahim has revealed Athira's location through Morse code, which Danny deduces to be Jyothi's apartment.

As Daniel and Michael expose the crimes of Periscope to the public, massive protests erupt outside Shakthi Solutions, causing the surveillance empire to collapse from within. Desperate to erase all evidence, Shakthi orders the destruction of every server and hard disk inside the company. During a hacked phone call with JPS, Shakthi finally reveals the devastating truth that the cockpit fire incident which shaped his life and public image had actually been orchestrated by his own father for political gain, which he knows years ago. Daniel confirms that he had known parts of the truth for years, explaining both his loyalty to Shakthi and his guilt. Shakthi coldly orders JPS to commit suicide so that he may die as a martyr rather than live in disgrace, which JPS obeys and he commits suicide by shooting himself.

As protestors storm the corporation building, Michael infiltrates the server room to upload all classified evidence before it can be destroyed, leading to a brutal confrontation with Shakthi. Daniel eventually arrives for the final showdown and offers Shakthi one last chance to confess publicly, but Shakthi refuses. Daniel ultimately sprays VX nerve agent on him, the same poison used to murder Nalini and Jyothi. An nervous Shakthi runs away suddenly and takes his car in an attempt to flee and take the antidote for VX nerve poisoning immediately, but on the way, protestors chase him, leading his car to crash and kill him. In the aftermath, Michael testifies in court against Shakthi Solutions and exposes the Periscope operation, while Daniel returns to Delhi and demands that Rahim Naik’s name be added to the National War Memorial.

At the memorial ceremony, Sreedharan praises Daniel as a “Great Indian.” Daniel calmly responds by asking whether history will remember him as a “Great Indian traitor” or a “Great Indian patriot,” ending the film on a morally ambiguous reflection about dissent, loyalty, and the true meaning of patriotism.

Principal photography commenced in November 2024 in Sri Lanka.^[10][11] Filming took place across multiple locations in India and internationally, including Hyderabad, at Ramoji Film City, the United Kingdom, including London, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, New Delhi, Kashmir, Coimbatore, and Kochi.^[12][13][14] Filming concluded in January 2026.^[15]

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The soundtrack is composed by Sushin Shyam.^[8]

The first single, "Kaattu Thottappol", written by Anwar Ali, was released prior to the film's release. The song is sung by iSai and Kapil Kapilan.^[16] A second single titled "Manushyan" was released on 26 April, sung by Shakthisree Gopalan.

Patriot was released worldwide on 1 May 2026.

The digital rights for Patriot have been acquired by ZEE5.^[17] The film will start streaming from 5 June 2026.^[18]

Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express gave 3 out of 5 stars, writing "Kudos to Mahesh Narayanan for not being intimidated by Mammootty and Mohanlal's superstardom, and to the two legends for simply trusting the director's vision", even though "Mahesh's script ultimately falls flat, with mediocre writing throughout that fails to elevate Patriot".^[19] S.R. Praveen of The Hindu wrote "Despite its predictable narrative, Patriot is an engaging and even brave film on a pertinent issue. It is not often that a questioning “dissident” gets the central role in an Indian film these days".^[20]

Vishal Menon of The Hollywood Reporter India wrote "Patriot is a film that does a lot of things right with a lot to love in the writing, its subtle scores (Sushin Shyam is the composer) and the topics it explores. It is also a mini miracle that the film comes close to achieving the sky-high expectations ... It might be miles away from greatness, but it’s not often that we see a whistleblower thriller with so many unforgettable whistle-worthy moments".^[21] Janani K of India Today gave 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing "With intelligent writing and a grounded vision, it is spy cinema done right — minor shortcomings and all ... Patriot is not without its flaws. There are stretches that lose momentum before the film pulls you back in".^[22] Athulya Nambiar of Mid-Day wrote that "Patriot’s biggest USP is undoubtedly the reunion of Malayalam superstars Mohanlal and Mammootty. Despite a few flaws, the film runs high on the back of the reunion of the stars after nearly two decades".^[23]