Kishen Mohan Girhotra (Farhan Akhtar) is a young man who belongs to Moradabad, a city in Uttar Pradesh. One fateful day, Kishen gets accused of murder which lands him in Lucknow Central Jail where he's awaiting his High Court trial for a death penalty. Gayatri Kashyap (Diana Penty), a diligent NGO worker, is compelled to form a "Band of Prisoners" for the band competition which is to be held in the dreaded jail of 'Lucknow Central' that year and this is how Kishen's and her paths cross. Kishen befriends four other inmates, namely Dikkat Ansari, Victor Chattopadhyay, Purushottam Pandit, Parminder Trehan and convinces them to join the band. The dramatic narrative of Lucknow Central portrays how Kishen's life progresses in jail and how music becomes an intricate part of not only his journey, but the rest of the band's as well.