Two woman --different backgrounds, miles apart, and strangers to each other-- are linked by tragedy. Their new-found friendship is tested as one holds the fate of the other's husband in her hands.
Shankar Singh and his wife, Meera, live in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India along with widowed paternal grandmother, Laxmibai, his mom, Gowri, and dad, Randhir. The family feel that they are blessed after Meera's entry in this family. Shankar must go and abroad in Saudi Arabia and bids farewell to Meera, promising to keep in touch, which he does, and also sends them a large portion of his earnings, which is used to pay off the family's debts. Then when no word is received from him, a worried Meera phones, and is devastated to learn that Shankar has been killed by being thrown off a 10th floor balcony. Her status quickly changes, her jewelery, ornaments, fancy clothes are taken off, and she is told to remain indoors. wear dark clothes, and is only allowed to pray at a Mandir. Things brighten up for Meera when she befriends an Islamic woman, Zeenat, who has come all the way from Himachal Pradesh to look for her husband, Amir Khan. Shortly thereafter, Meera's world is turned upside down when she finds out that her father-in-law plans to make her the mistress of a wealthy building contractor, Chopra, for a sum of Five Lakh Rupees; she endures further trauma when she finds out that Zeenat is the wife of the man who has been accused of killing her husband, is merely here to persuade her to sign a Mafi-Naama, which would ensure the release of her husband from the Saudi jails, and prevent his death. Hurt, humiliated and confused Meera refuses to sign this document, and is confined to a locked room by Randhir. It looks like Zeenat may lose her husband after all, and Meera may end up being Chopra's temporary mistress.—rAjOo ([email protected])
Zeenat, an independent Muslim woman living in Himachal Pradesh, accepts the proposal of Amir. Meanwhile, Meera, a traditional Hindu woman, lives with her husband Shankar and his extended family in Rajasthan. Although miles apart, the women's lives are linked when both their husbands seek employment in Saudi Arabia and the news arrives that Amir has been accused of murdering Shankar. Not knowing the exact address, but determined to help her husband; Zeenat sets out on a cross-country journey to ask Shankar's family for the pardon that will spare Amir's life. Along the way she is joined by mischievous Behroopiya. What will happen when the women meet face to face?—L. Hamre
Zeenat (Gul Panag) is an independent Muslim woman living in Himachal Pradesh. She agrees to marry Amir Khan, her boyfriend despite his parents' reservations. After their marriage, her husband leaves for Saudi Arabia to begin with a new employment.
Meera (Ayesha Takia), a simple Rajasthani Hindu woman, has everything in her life in accordance with customs and traditions: her formative years, her recent marriage into a traditional Rajasthani family and her daily chores within the walls of her Haveli. Coincidentally, her husband is also away to Saudi Arabia, his new workplace. Meera finds it tough without her husband, Shankar, but they manage to stay in touch despite the geographical distance.
Shankar regularly kept sending his wages back home so as to support his family that included his father, Randhir Singh (Girish Karnad), mother, Gowri Singh (Prateeksha Lonkar), his paternal grandmother (Uttara Baokar) and his wife, Meera. One day, Meera does not find the periodic remittance from Shankar. Time passes by and when there are neither any further remittances nor any correspondence from her husband, Meera gets worried. When frantic inquiries are made, she is devastated to know that Shankar was killed in a freak accident that was allegedly caused by his Muslim roommate.
When the news of Shankar's death reaches the Singh Haveli, everyone turns somber and as per the Rajasthani tradition, the ceremonies towards rendering her into a widow emotionally drains Meera. Her vivaciousness and exuberance are thrust behind her black veil. The rest of the family vents their frustration of losing their only bread-winner on Meera, by blaming her for bringing ill-luck to their family. Meera, while being her respectful self, bears the insults silently.
On the other side, Zeenat hears that her husband has been arrested for murdering his roommate in Saudi Arabia. She is convinced that it must have been an accident, but the Saudi law is unforgiving, and Amir is scheduled to be executed. An Indian officer explains to her that Saudi law permits release of a criminal if the wife of the deceased forgives the guilt. Armed only with a photograph of Shankar and Amir, Zeenat sets out to find Meera. En route, she meets a Bahuroopiya (Shreyas Talpade) on the way. The Bahuroopiya introduces himself and his profession as being multi-faceted and multi-talented in arts and mimicry. This profession requires him to keep visiting different places to perform "tricks" for his income. He turns out to be a petty con-man when he hoodwinks Zeenat and steals her belongings.
However, when Zeenat is in trouble, he returns to rescue her with his artistic talent. He reveals his sympathetic view when Zeenat details her plight, and he offers to help her with whatever knowledge he has. After making a lot of educated guesses, they both reach Jodhpur and with local help, they identify the Singh Haveli. When Zeenat directly requests the Singh family to pardon Amir's mistake, their anger drives her away. She feels that maybe talking through and befriending Meera might help her cause. The Bahuroopiya takes leave of Zeenat and wishes her the best for her efforts.
At a temple, which Meera visits as her daily ritual, Zeenat makes her first contact. Zeenat is too afraid to tell Meera the truth about the situation, and she does not reveal who she is or why she has come. Over a few weeks, both become good friends and spend most of the time together and their friendship brings out the missing part in each of their personalities. In the process, Zeenat realizes helplessness; this is totally new to her forthright way of thinking. Meera, on the other hand, gets a glimpse of freedom; this brings her out of the shell of the traditions in her Haveli and gives her a new perspective on her own life.
In the meanwhile, the Singh Haveli is under a debt to Chopra, a local factory owner (Nagesh Kukunoor). When Randhir Singh requests him to provide him more time to repay it back, he is given an offer - pardoning the debt in exchange for Meera. Though initially setback by Chopra's offer, Singh prefers the Haveli to Meera.
When the news of the imminent death sentence arrives, Zeenat is compelled to tell the truth to Meera. Meera is shocked beyond belief to hear Zeenat's words and the fact that her friendship was based on false pretenses is what hurts her more. She immediately refuses to sign the Maafinama (translation: statement of forgiveness). She makes it clear that she wants to hurt her husband's killer, even if it was an accident, because of how much she is hurting in her new, veiled life. She leaves for the Haveli. Zeenat, initially, is deeply hurt to know of Meera's decision, but eventually accepts it as fate and decides to leave for her hometown.
Meera later has a change of heart, perhaps because of her disillusionment at Singh's willingness to "sell" her to Chopra. She gets encouragement from her paternal grandmother and hurries towards the railway station, where she meets Zeenat and gives her the signed statement of forgiveness. At the last second, Zeenat extends her hand from the train and Meera grabs it and climbs aboard, presumably running away from the only life she has ever known, as the train speeds up into the distance.
