Ground Zero ending explained: How Emraan Hashmi’s Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey brings down Ghazi Baba

Prime Video has begun streaming the action-packed thriller Ground Zero, starring Emraan Hashmi, following its theatrical premiere earlier this year. The film's director, Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar, drew inspiration from real-life events involving a daring operation by the Indian military to kill the infamous terrorist Ghazi Baba, who was responsible for the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament.

Mission set in the conflict-ridden valley

Ground Zero has Kashmir as its backdrop and follows BSF officer Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey (Emraan Hashmi) as he spearheads a clandestine mission to apprehend Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Ghazi Baba. Ghazi, who has a history of radicalising young men and planning assaults like the one in Parliament, is still a mysterious person with a web of local connections and several safe houses.

The film begins with Ghazi's men indoctrinating youths to become part of the "Pistol Gang", a group of young Kashmiri boys who are paid to assassinate Indian soldiers. The killing of a school bus guard and the subsequent indirect threat to Dubey's daughter make the mission very personal.

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A college student named Hussain is one of the killers who Dubey is able to apprehend. After coming to terms with the boy's role as a hesitant pawn, Dubey turns him into an informant. A Yunani practitioner whom Dubey suspects of having ties to Ghazi is located with the help of Hussain, an insider. A planted tracker leads Ghazi to a hideout, where he manages to kill the doctor.

With each passing incident, including the tragic one at the Akshardham Temple in Gujarat, Dubey draws nearer to his goal. Terrorists murder Hussain in a trap, leaving Dubey devastated but determined.

Following an unsuccessful attempt to attack the Prime Minister's convoy, Dubey apprehends Chand Khan, a Jaish handler, who divulges Ghazi's probable whereabouts. Dubey locates a house using a school photo of Ghazi's son.

Final act

The raid cannot go on until Dubey approaches his superior, Sanjeev Sharma (Mukesh Tiwari), for approval. Still, Dubey chooses to take action. He and other BSF officers storm a residence with multiple stories. They are unaware that Ghazi has stationed himself in a secret chamber in the basement.

Frenzied gunfire erupts and Dubey continues to advance after losing multiple men. Dubey and Ghazi get into a nasty hand-to-hand battle in the last bout. Dubey, despite his wounds, defeats Ghazi and strangles him to death, ending his reign of terror.

In the film's last scene, the real-life accomplishments of Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey—a BSF soldier who retired in 2022 after receiving the Kirti Chakra for valour—are revealed. The film ends on a subtle but satisfying note, with Dubey fulfilling his pledge to take his daughter to school alongside a man dressed as Santa Claus instead of the armed guard she had previously been afraid of.

Ground Zero is an emotional dramatisation of a real-life counter-terrorism operation, written by Sanchit Gupta and Priyadarshee Srivastava. The film is more complex than your average jingoistic fare thanks to its emphasis on moral uncertainty and the human cost of conflict, despite its liberal use of dramatic licence.