- A displaced woman is forced to become a beer-bar dancer, and sire children of a gangster.
- Mumtaz is a village girl whose family is killed in communal riots. She moves to Mumbai with her uncle, the only family member she has left. They are desperately poor and her uncle persuades her to become a bar girl at Chandni Bar. This is merely temporary, he promises, until he gets a job. Mumtaz is a shy girl who loathes the work, but she forces herself to dance and flirt. However, the uncle doesn't keep his promise; he lives on her earnings, drinking them away, and never gets a job. He adds one final, unforgivable crime to the list when he gets drunk and rapes her. By this time she has caught the eye of a gangster called Potiya Sawant. When she tells Potiya what her uncle did to her, Potiya decides to "defend her honor." Potiya shoots the uncle. Mumtaz, bereft of any male protection in the dangerous slums, marries Potiya. She is determined to make the best of things. She leaves the bar and stays home to raise her two children, whom she carefully protects from the world of prostitution and gangs. However, her world unravels again when Potiya is killed. She has to return to the bar to support her children. In the end, she cannot protect them from their sordid surroundings. Her son becomes a killer, her daughter becomes a bar dancer in her turn, and Mumtaz turns to prostitution in a tragic attempt to save her son.—gavin (gunmasterM@hotmail.com)
- After her Sitapur (U.P.) home is burnt in the 1985 communal riots, Mumtaz (Tabu) relocates to Bombay accompanied by her one surviving relative, Irfan Mamu (Suhas Palsikar). Once there, they meet with Iqbal Chamdi (Rajpal Yadav), who arranges their accommodation, and gets her hired at Chandni Bar as a dancer, which she reluctantly accepts after being assured that it is only temporary. But when things don't change, she confronts her now-alcoholic uncle, who sexually molests her. Gangster Potya Sawant (Atul Kulkarni) has him killed, marries her, and they become parents of Abhay and Payal. She wants her children to get an education and adapt different professions than their parents. But things get out of control after Potya is killed in an "encounter", compelling her to return back to dancing. Years pass by, Abhay and Payal are now in their teens and attending school, while she works as a waitress. Then the unexpected happens - Abhay is arrested by the police for extortion and held in a Juvenile home. After her attempts to get him released go in vain, she approaches some power-brokers, who agree to do so for a price, which she must arrange in less than two days. She hustles and sells her body to obtain the money, but is still short. Then Payal takes up dancing at the bar, brings the rest of the money, and Abhay gets discharged. But her son is not the same - he is now cold, ruthless, and has only one purpose - vengeance. With her children's lives shattering - she must now find out what happened to her son - and what could be done to prevent him from becoming another gangster.—rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)
- Mumtaz (Tabu) is a naive young rural woman whose family is killed in communal riots. After her village is burnt to the ground, she moves to Mumbai with her uncle, the only family member she has left. They are desperately poor and her uncle persuades her to become a bar girl (dancer) at Chandni Bar. He promises her that this is merely temporary, until he is able to get a job. Mumtaz is shy and loathes the work, but she forces herself to dance and flirt. However, her uncle doesn't keep his word; he lives on her earnings, drinking them away, and never gets a job. One night, after spending time drinking and watching the girls dance at the bar, Mumtaz's uncle rapes her. Mumtaz is distraught and emotionally confides in the other dancers. Even though they console her, Mumtaz is given a reality check when she realises that many other women at the bar have equally disturbing and painful stories. She manages to pull herself together and immerses herself in her work at the bar.
Eventually, Mumtaz catches the eye of a gangster called Pottya Sawant (Atul Kulkarni). He attempts to seduce her and finally resorts to paying her for sex. Mumtaz, however, cannot go through with the deed and tells Pottya about her rape. Enraged, Pottya kills her uncle and marries Mumtaz. Mumtaz leaves the bar, and Pottya rises up the criminal ranks quickly, despite his volatile temper. The couple live a happy life with their son, Abhay, and daughter, Payal. Mumtaz wishes for Abhay and Payal to be educated, and stay far away from her world of dancing girls and Pottya's world of gangsters.
Pottya's attitude and temper cause him to prematurely kill another gangster, which results in him losing friends and connections in the criminal world. He becomes a target for the police. He is captured and killed in an operation to 'eliminate' various Mumbai gangsters. A grieving Mumtaz slowly runs out of money and soon realises that Pottya has left behind a large amount of debt. With no source of income, she is forced to return to work at Chandni Bar.
Years pass and Mumtaz still works at Chandni Bar: now as a waitress. She manages to provide a stable environment for Abhay and Payal, who are teenagers. Mumtaz encourages her children to do well in school, so that they can move away from their surroundings of crime and gangs. Abhay is very studious and performs well in classes, but soon befriends a group of troublemakers and delinquents. Despite being warned by Mumtaz, he continues to see his friends. One day, Abhay and his group are arrested by police for extortion and held in a juvenile prison. Even though he was not part of the crime, his reputation as Pottya's son causes the police to ignore his pleas of innocence. At the prison, Abhay is raped by a pair of older inmates.
Mumtaz attempts to talk to the police, to no avail. She meets with some influential people, who have police connections and can get Abhay released. They agree to help her but demand a high price, which she must bring to them in less than two days. Mumtaz has no choice and sells her body to obtain the money. She is still short. Seeing her mother's plight, Payal takes up dancing at Chandni Bar and brings the money to her troubled mother.
Having secured the money, Mumtaz is able to get Abhay released. However, she notices that he is not the same happy boy he was a few days earlier. Instead, he is cold, ruthless, and is looking for revenge. Abhay makes connections in the crime world and gets a gun, which he uses to kill the boys who raped him. Mumtaz arrives on the scene and is devastated to find that her son has become a killer.
It is implied that Payal is following in her mother's footsteps, and Abhay is set to be another Pottya.
Shared by: Farhan Wilayat Butt
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
More from this title
More to explore
Most anticipated Indian movies and shows
Percentage shows amount of top page views.