In
1935 (notably a year before the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark),
Indiana Jones narrowly escapes the clutches of a crime boss in
Shanghai. With nightclub singer Willie Scott and his ten-year-old
Chinese sidekick Short Round in tow, Indiana flees Shanghai on a plane
that, unbeknownst to them, is piloted by the crime boss's affiliates.
The pilots leave the plane to crash over the Himalayas, though the trio
manage to escape on an inflatable boat and ride down the slopes into a
raging river. The trio come to a desolate village in India, where the
poor villagers believe them to have been sent by the Hindu god Siva and
enlist their help to retrieve a sacred Sivalinga stone stolen from
their shrine, as well as the community's kidnapped children from evil
forces in the nearby Pankot Palace. During the journey to Pankot,
Indiana hypothesizes that the stone may be one of the five fabled
Sankara stones, which promise fortune and glory.
The trio receive a warm welcome from the residents of Pankot Palace,
who rebuff Indiana's questions about the villagers' claims and his
theory that the ancient Thuggee cult is responsible for their troubles.
Later that night, however, Indiana is attacked by a would-be assassin,
leading him, Willie and Short Round to an underground temple where the
Thuggee worship the Hindu goddess Kali with human sacrifice. The trio
discover that the Thuggee, lead by their evil high priest Mola Ram, are
in possession of three of the five Sankara stones, and have enslaved
the children to mine for the final two stones, which they hope will
allow them to rule the world. As Indiana tries to retrieve the stones,
he, Willie and Short Round are captured and separated. Indiana is
forced to drink a potion called the "Blood of Kali," which places him
in a trance-like state called the "Black Sleep of Kali Ma," and begins
to mindlessly serve Mola Ram. Willie, meanwhile, is kept as a human
sacrifice, while Short Round is put in the mines to labor alongside the
enslaved children. Short Round breaks free and escapes back into the
temple where Willie is about to be lowered into a pit of lava. He burns
Indiana with a torch, shocking him out of the Black Sleep. While Mola
Ram escapes, Indiana and Short Round manage to save Willie, retrieve
the three Sankara stones and free the village children.
After a mine cart chase to escape the temple, the trio emerge
aboveground only to be cornered by Mola Ram and the Thuggee on a rope
bridge over a crocodile-infested river. Using a machete stolen from one
of the Thuggee warriors, Indiana cuts the rope bridge in half, leaving
everyone to hang on for their lives. In one final struggle against Mola
Ram for the Sankara stones, Indiana evokes an incantation, causing the
stones to glow red hot. Two of the stones fall into the river, while
the last falls into and burns Mola Ram's hand. Indiana catches the
now-cool stone while Mola Ram falls into the river below and is torn to
pieces by the crocodiles. A squadron of British riflemen from Pankot
arrive to apprehend the remaining Thuggee. Indiana, Willie and Short
Round return victoriously to the Indian village with their sacred
Sankara stone and missing children.
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