Synopsis
Scene – 1: Swadeshi Movement
It is 1905. The Indian subcontinent is under the rule of the British Empire. The then Viceroy, Lord George Curzon, announces that colonial India will be divided into two parts: the Hindu-majority region will be called West Bengal, and the Muslim-majority region will be called East Bengal. The people of British India rise in protest against the decision. They boycott British goods and burn them in the streets.
Amid this transformative movement, a detective named Mahim Chandra serves in the government police department after receiving a promotion. Although he has only recently married, instead of devoting time to his wife, he is far more interested in reading detective novels.
Scene – 2: London Street
On a dreamy London street, a sudden crime takes place in the middle of the road. Mahim is called to the scene to provide his expert opinion. He is accompanied by a British officer, at the special request of the Queen. Mahim is disappointed with the officer for failing to find any evidence on the victim’s body. He doesn’t consider this to be a proper crime scene.
Suddenly, he discovers a clue on the victim’s body—a four of spades. It is a perfect example of his brilliance as a detective. Excited, he calls out to his loyal companion, Watson.
The dream, unfortunately, ends here…
Scene – 3: Police Station
Mahim finds himself back in reality, at the police station among the general public. In place of Dr Watson, his companion Hutashon is by his side. His boss scolds him for not doing his duties properly. Strangely, his boss’s face matches that of the British officer Mahim was scolding in his dream.
His boss directs him to start taking his work seriously and orders him to catch a man called Raktambar Dhar, whom the British spies have identified as a potential activist—or, in their words, a terrorist.
Scene – 4: Riverbank
Hutashon and Mahim are waiting on the street to catch Raktambar Dhar red-handed. Mahim does not know what his suspect looks like, but he is super confident that he will recognise him the moment he appears. In his excitement, he almost catches the post office clerk, Chhidam, but Hutashon stops him just in time. Finally, Raktambar appears in his usual position, perfectly placed to throw a bomb at the District Magistrate when he passes along the route during his regular evening walk. Mahim and Hutashon wait patiently, showing no sign of stopping him to save the District Magistrate, as Mahim has been ordered to catch the suspect red- handed.
But Raktambar does nothing, and the District Magistrate strolls away safely with his wife. Someone else walks in and starts talking to Raktambar, and Mahim and Hutashon eavesdrop on the conversation. It turns out that the newcomer is actually Raktambar’s doctor, who has come to collect Raktambar’s stool sample for his haemorrhoids.
Mahim flies into a rage in frustration and rushes in to chew out Raktambar for his lack of criminal intentions. Raktambar fights back…
Scene – 5: Mahim’s House
Shudhamukhi, Mahim’s newlywed wife, is standing on the balcony, looking at someone on the street. Her sister-in-law, Sneho, a young widow, draws her attention back to the house. Shudha wonders about Mahim’s whereabouts, as she does not really know where he works or how long he has to stay at work. Seeing her sister-in-law’s ignorance about her new husband, Sneho starts joshing with her, but Shudha does not find it amusing.
Mahim arrives home with a minor injury to his leg. When Shudha asks about it, he lies, saying that he was collecting tax from a difficult tax evader. Seeing the clear signs that he is lying, Shudha lets him know that she is finding it difficult to trust him. Mahim avoids any further questioning and leaves to take a shower. Shudha is left alone in her room. The next morning, on his way to work, Mahim notices a suspicious young man standing in front of his house. Another person approaches him and hands him a bag. Mahim is intrigued by the interaction but is noticed by the young man. He hurriedly leaves the spot but bumps into Bhupoti Sen, a local senior citizen.
Bhupoti Sen has a heart attack on the spot, and the young man gets away.
Scene – 6: Arunabho’s Hideout
Shudha goes to visit her former teacher and activist leader, Arunabho Chattopadhyay, in secret. It is revealed that she used to be an activist as well, but after her relationship with Manmatha became known to everyone, she was ousted from the activist group and married off. She requests her master to take her back, as Lord Curzon’s declaration to divide Bengal into two parts has rattled her. Her master, however, refuses her request, as he needs people who do not have any distractions in their lives and can devote themselves entirely to their motherland.
Dejected, Shudha leaves but donates her wedding jewellery as a gesture of solidarity.
Scene – 7: Chaganlal’s Shop
Chogonlaal, a businessman, has killed his younger brother in their shop, and Mahim and Hutashon have arrived at the scene to investigate. Chogonlaal tries to hide the truth at first with fake tears, but when Mahim finds the mark of his ring on the victim’s neck and asks him about it, Chogonlaal confesses everything without further ado. This angers Mahim even more than the crime itself. Once again, his chance to conduct an interesting investigation is taken away.
Scene – 8: Mahim’s House
At home, Mahim is reading a detective novel and expressing his frustration to Shudha about how Bengal does not have intelligent criminals like the Western world. He almost blurts out his real occupation.
On the other hand, Shudha calls him out on his lack of interest in the current political state of the country. Mahim stops her mid-sentence, as this kind of conversation might cost him his job. Shudha requests him to spend more time with her, but Mahim leaves to read his book without distraction.
The next morning, after Mahim has left for work, someone calls on Shudha at her home. It is the same man who waits outside their house every day. His name is Manmatha, Shudha’s comrade in the rebellion, her friend, and her former lover. Manmatha tries to convince her to run away with him…
Scene – 9: Police Station
The District Magistrate is evidently upset about the present condition of British India. He and the senior officer, Mahim’s boss, are discussing strategy when detective Gourav makes a cruel spectacle out of an activist he has arrested. This impresses the District Magistrate, who assigns Gourav, Mahim, and Hutashon to catch Arunavo Chatterjee, as he is one of the prominent leaders of the rebellion against the British government.
Mahim is not really interested in the case. Even the prospect of a promotion and a reward of one thousand rupees cannot convince him. He is more interested in a strange murder case where the victim was killed with a fishbone stabbed into his rear. After investigation, it was revealed that the intended victim was his wife, who had a female lover. The true motive of the crime could have been poetic justice
from a jilted lover.
Mahim’s cock-and-bull story leaves Hutashon’s last nerve frayed.
Scene – 10: Temple
Arunavo Chatterjee is grilling Manmatha for his lack of commitment to the cause of the rebellion. Manmatha believes that violence is not the way to achieve peace, and this infuriates Arunavo. He blames Manmatha’s softness on his romantic involvement with Shudha. He hands Manmatha a gun and tries to reignite the fire of rebellion within him.
Interval
Scene – 11: Riverbank
Mahim and Hutashon are walking by the bank of a river and watching young people prepare for the upcoming mass protest and general strike on 16 October, in objection to the declaration of the Bengal Partition Bill. Mahim is not at all interested. He is more interested in the individual standing in front of his house. It is the same person who bumped into Bhupati Sen before he had the heart attack and passed away.
Mahim thinks that this man is skilled in jujitsu, and that is how he killed Bhupati Sen with a single strike. He follows him to a student hostel to investigate…
Scene – 12: Mahim’s House
At home, Shudha offers Sneho the opportunity to practise singing with her or learn to read in her spare time. Sneho strongly refuses the offer, pointing out that it is considered inauspicious in society for women to study. She also points out that education does not make any difference for women, as ultimately they end up doing the same things, just like Shudha, who ended up at her in-laws’ house, spending her days cooking and cleaning.
Meanwhile, a letter arrives in Shudha’s name. It is from Manmatha, warning Shudha about her husband’s safety. This distresses Shudha. She tries to stop Mahim from going away for another unknown assignment. As usual, Mahim does not listen to her.
Scene – 13: Student Hall
At Manmatha’s student hall, Mahim arrives disguised as a sleazy old man who is restarting his education to learn English, so that he can communicate with his son’s foreign-bred dog. Manmatha is obviously not amused by the makeup or Mahim’s acting, but he does not let him know. So, when Mahim leaves after the introduction, Manmatha warns the caretaker of the hostel to be tight-lipped around Nishi Padma Babu, a.k.a. Mahim, and to keep him posted on his activities.
Scene – 14: Riverbank
After not hearing back from her husband for a while, Shudha comes out of the house with her sister-in-law to look for Mahim by the riverside but misses him by a few seconds. Sneho takes her back home.
Meanwhile, Mahim is updating Hutashon, a.k.a. Watson, about his mission. He is concerned that Manmatha might have realised that he is being investigated. The only success so far is that Mahim has managed to steal Manmatha’s personal diary. However, he needs more clues, so he asks Hutashon to bring Harimoti.
Harimoti is a courtesan who helps the police department gather information. Hutashon is not a fan of her, nor of Mahim’s idea of using her as Nishi Padma’s love interest. Mahim plans to use her as a honey trap to extract information from Manmatha.
With Harimoti by his side, Mahim, disguised as Nishi Padma, puts on an act in front of Manmatha. He asks Manmatha for help in proposing to Harimoti. Manmatha initially refuses, but after being cornered by Mahim, agrees to help. Harimoti then plays along with Mahim’s plan, pretending to be more interested in Manmatha than Nishi Padma Babu. She gets close to Manmatha, hoping to uncover information about the rebellion.
Scene – 15: Mahim’s House
Manmatha reaches Shudha’s house and informs her about Mahim’s alleged affair with Harimoti. Shudha refuses to believe the news but agrees to accompany Manmatha later to see the proof herself.
After Manmatha leaves, Sneho questions Shudha about him. She has realised that Manmatha is obviously Shudha’s former lover, who still loves her. Sneho tells her to run away with him, as Shudha still has a chance, unlike herself. Shudha says nothing and broods alone.
Scene – 16: Police Station
At the police station, Mahim is feeling restless as his plan to use Harimoti to retrieve information from Manmatha has not worked out yet. He is convinced that Manmatha is the one who killed Bhupati Sen with a jujitsu strike. Manmatha’s stolen diary has not given him any clues either.
Gourav overhears Mahim and Hutashon’s conversation. After Mahim leaves, Gourav picks up Manmatha’s diary. The diary reveals that Manmatha is actually a student of Arunabho Chattopadhyay, the rebellion leader whom the District Magistrate has assigned them to arrest. Gourav threatens Hutashon not to tell Mahim anything about this discovery and takes him to their boss.
Scene – 17: Student Hall
At the student hall, Arunabho is grilling Manmatha. He wants him to kill Mahim, as Mahim is a well-known detective responsible for catching many activists involved in the rebellion. Manmatha is struggling with an ethical dilemma. Arunabho points out his hypocrisy, as he knows that Manmatha has tried to slander Mahim’s reputation to Shudha, in hopes of getting her back. Arunabho baits Manmatha by saying that if he succeeds in killing Mahim, he will agree to take Shudha back into their team. This sudden change in Arunabho’s decision surprises Manmatha.
Meanwhile, Mahim only overhears the part where the two of them are planning his assassination and feels proud of himself.
He approaches Manmatha to make a plan for the following Saturday, when he apparently wants to propose to Harimoti. In reality, he is planning to catch Manmatha for the murder of Bhupati Sen. Manmatha agrees and, in exchange, offers to bring his own girlfriend as well.
Scene – 18: Park
As planned, Mahim arrives at the riverbank with Harimoti to meet Manmatha and his secret girlfriend. While waiting for them, he is confident that his plan to catch Manmatha red-handed is about to succeed.
Soon, Shudha arrives at the scene. Mahim is shocked to discover that the woman connected to Manmatha is his own wife. Shudha, on the other hand, has come to catch Mahim red-handed with Harimoti.
Mahim tries to explain that his relationship with Harimoti is only an act to investigate Manmatha and that he is merely doing his duty as a detective. Shudha questions him for working as a detective for the British government and going against his own people. Mahim tells her that he is not interested in politics or rebellion; he only wants to be a detective and solve cases.
Shudha then reveals that Manmatha is not just a suspect—he is her actual beloved. Upon learning the truth, Mahim suggests that it would be best if she leaves with the person she truly loves.
Meanwhile, Arunabho appears and declares that Shudha should indeed leave Mahim, but she should also take revenge for her comrades by killing him. According to Arunabho, Mahim has arrested many young activists on behalf of the British government.
At the same time, Gourav arrives with Hutashon. Gourav has followed Mahim in order to catch Arunabho, the rebellion leader, red-handed. Arunabho throws a bomb at Gourav, injuring him. Gourav tries to escape but does not get far.
Arunabho resumes his mission to make Shudha kill Mahim. Manmatha tries to stop both Arunabho and Shudha. Amidst the chaos, Hutashon points his gun at the injured Gourav. He reveals that he has discovered the truth: many of the innocent young activists arrested by the British were actually arrested by Gourav, who used Mahim’s name to protect himself. Hutashon decides to use this opportunity. If Gourav is killed here, the blame can be placed on Arunabho and no one will ever know the truth.
While Arunabho, Shudha, and Manmatha struggle over the gun, Hutashon kills Gourav.
During the struggle between Arunabho and Shudha, Mahim assures Shudha that he would not mind being killed by her. The gun goes off during the struggle, and Mahim falls to the ground. Manmatha, believing Mahim to be dead, pulls a shattered Shudha away from the scene and escapes.
Hutashon rushes towards Mahim after finding him lying on the ground. To his surprise, Mahim is alive—he was wearing armour underneath his shirt. Hutashon questions him about his decision to let his wife run away. Mahim tells him that allowing Shudha to leave is the only good thing he has done in his life. Now, he can finally concentrate on his work properly.
And who knows, someday she might come back to him…