A routine sortie in the Kargil sector. Indian Air Force helicopter pilots, Squadron Leader Vikram Rathore (Sanjay Dutt) and Flight Lieutenant Shezad Khan (Suniel Shetty) are busy with the process of passing time in the white-clad wilderness of endless non-populated arid lands. Suddenly, they spot a number of bodies strewn over, and a hand reaching out. The rescue is carried out despite of a 'No-Go' from the HQ Command because of bad weather. The basic first-aid is carried out, and a diary is discovered. What unfolds through the pages of this diary, while these two pilots fight bad weather and the need to keep the rescued BSF soldier alive, takes them on a whirlwind trip across the nation with Sepoy Tarun Chauhan (Bobby Deol), his journey of life, his love Lachchi (Tanishaa), his battles, his fears, the loss of innocence, and above all, the influence of his mentor, Havaldar Mohammed Ali (Ajay Devgan), who is shaping his destiny. From time immemorial, soldiers have fallen on the battlefield without really knowing why they were fighting, and for what. Absurdly, wars are always fought in the name of peace. Whatever the compelling reason to fight, it is ultimately the soldiers on both sides who die - in some strange land, in some horrible way, with no one really to mourn for them, except for their immediately family, or perhaps a posthumous investiture ceremony. The solider is a brutal symbol of the violent animal in all of us. He does our dirty work. All over the world, wherever battle lines are grimly drawn, he emerges. Weary and dusty, with his mud caked gun and torn bleeding face, he squeezes the trigger at another weary and worn person somewhere out there. He is charged with a love for his cause or country. Yet that love is not enough when it comes to death. He is frightened and bewildered. Who in this blue and beautiful planet wants to die in a trench a thousand miles from home? In a real tangible way, he is a true hero - even though he will remain an unknown soldier. He had the courage to believe and the guts to die so that someone, somewhere, far away, might live in peace. The main protagonists of Tango Charlie represent these brave fighters who are ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of our safety and security without any expectation of any award or reward. However, they should not be consigned to the footnotes of our daily lives. They deserve better than that.
