Samit Bhanja

The film documents one of the largest Indian religious fairs, the Kumbh Mela, which is held at the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati. The action is seen through the eyes of Shubhendu Chatterjee who has come to the Mela not out of any religious sentiment but to see and understand people and seek the reason why “….multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining.” (Mark Twain after visiting the 1895 Mela)

A powerful industrialist and a celebrated singer seem to have the perfect marriage until an ambitious young actress enters their lives. As past feelings, misunderstandings, and public scrutiny begin to test their bond, the couple must confront the fragile balance between love, trust, and ambition.

Four friends from Calcutta who have very different personalities make a holiday excursion into the country, to a tiny village in the state of Bihar where they set themselves up in a bungalow. A series of minor events, all connected to their respective reactions to their new environment, reveals their characters more deeply.

Kabita, a middle-class working woman, looks after and tries to financially support her family. Soon, she sacrifices the love of her life for her widowed sister.

Fuleshwari, a beautiful young woman, falls in love with Brindaban, a simpleton who arrives in her village. She plans to marry him but is hesitant when she learns that he is involved in a crime.

Trouble arises in the lives of a happy couple after she gets sold to Jonardhan, a guy with evil intentions, and he is framed in a case of theft and sent to jail.

An aged widow from a village moves to Calcutta to stay with relatives, but faces only exploitation. She moves to a slum, and finds her "own people" in a group of educated, unemployed youth, who are caught up inexorably in the prevalent political violence.

A British administrator with a flair for game hunting develops a friendship with a commoner who is an expert archer in an Indian village. The movie portrays the relationship between the British colonialists, and native villagers who were exploited by Indian landlords in 1920s India. This happens against the backdrop of the awakening of the Indian people against the British rule.