The Man Who Would Be King (film) - Plot

Plot

1885: While working as a correspondent at the offices of the Northern Star newspaper, Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer) is approached by a ragged, seemingly crazed derelict, who reveals himself to be his old acquaintance Peachy Toliver Carnehan (Michael Caine). Peachy tells Kipling the story of how he and his comrade-in-arms Daniel "Danny" Dravot (Sean Connery) traveled to remote Kafiristan (in modern-day Afghanistan, the province is now known as Nuristan), became gods, and ultimately lost everything.

Three years earlier, the pair of rogues had met Kipling under less than auspicious circumstances-Carnehan was a former Colour sergeant of the Queen's Own Royal Loyal Light Infantry who was forced to return Kipling's watch because he was a fellow Freemason while Dravot admits to Kipling that he and Carnehan intend to blackmail a rajah while posing as correspondents of the "Northern Star" newspaper {which Kipling futilely responds he is the "Northern Star" Correspondent!}. At a meeting with a colonial official who threathens to deport both the rogues as "undersirables" Carnehan blackmails him by a oblique reference that he did not tell the editor of the Northern Star about the editor's sister and a certain colonial offical! Both of them are bitter that after fighting to make India part of the Empire {such as in the Second Anglo-Afghan War 1879-1880}, they will have little to return home to. Later both men meet Kipling at his office. Despite being accomplished gun smugglers, swindlers and blackmailers, they feel India is too small for men such as themselves-so they intend to take twenty Martini Henry rifles and become rulers of Kafiristan. After signing a contract pledging mutual loyalty and forswearing drink and women until they achieved their grandiose aims, Peachy and Danny set off on an epic overland journey north beyond the Khyber Pass, "travelling by night and avoiding villages", fighting off bandits, blizzards, and avalanches, into the unknown land of Kafiristan (literally "Land of the Infidels").

They chance upon a Gurkha soldier who goes by the name Billy Fish (Saeed Jaffrey), the sole survivor of a mapping expedition several years earlier. Billy speaks English as well as the local tongue, and it is he, acting as translator and interpreter of the customs and manners, who smooths the path of Peachy and Danny as they begin their rise, first offering their services as military advisors, trainers, and war leaders to the chief of the much-raided village of Er-Heb.

Peachy and Danny muster a force to attack the villagers' most-hated enemy, the Bashkai. In their first battle, the natives decide that Danny must be a god when he is unharmed after being struck in the chest by an arrow, but in fact, the arrow was stopped by a bandolier hidden beneath his clothing. As victory follows victory, the defeated are recruited to join the swelling army.

Finally, nobody is left to stand in their way, and they are summoned to the holy city of Sikandergul, where the chief high priest, Kafu Selim, sets up a re-enactment of the arrow incident, to determine whether Danny is a man or a god by seeing whether or not he bleeds.

When Danny flinches, the monks grab him and open his shirt, only to be stopped by Danny's Masonic jewel (given to him for luck by Kipling, a fellow Mason). By coincidence, the symbol on the jewel matches one known only to the highest holy man, the symbol of "Sikander" (Alexander the Great), who had passed through the country thousands of years before and promised to return. The holy men are convinced Danny is the son of Sikander. They hail him as king and lead the two men down to storerooms heaped with treasure that belonged to Sikander, which now belongs to Danny.

As the months pass, Peachy is anxious to leave with the treasure before winter closes the passes (and before the natives learn the truth). Danny is against it, however, and develops delusions of grandeur. First, he suggests that Peachy bow to him like the others. Then, he begins making plans to turn the land into a modern country, to the extent that he envisages eventually meeting Queen Victoria "as an equal". Disgusted, Peachy decides to take as much booty as he can carry on a small mule train, with his old friend's blessing.

Meanwhile, Danny decides to take a wife after seeing the beautiful Roxanne (played by Caine's wife Shakira Caine), despite Peachy's strong warnings. Roxanne, having a superstitious fear that she will burst into flames if she consorts with a god, tries frantically to escape, biting Danny during the wedding ceremony. The bite draws blood, and when everyone sees it, they realize that Danny is human after all.

The angry natives pursue Danny and Peachy. Billy tries buying time by courageously charging the mob singlehandedly with a kukri, but the pair are soon captured. Danny is forced to walk to the middle of a rope bridge over a deep gorge and apologizes to Peachy before the ropes are cut. Peachy is crucified between two pine trees, but he is cut down the next day when he survives the ordeal. Eventually, he makes his way back to India, but his mind has become unhinged by his sufferings. As Peachy finishes his story, he presents Kipling with Danny's head, still wearing its crown, thereby confirming the tale.