This movie is all about the story of a bar girl who ekes out a living by working in a Ladies Bar. The story begins with a girl named Mumtaz who leaves for Bombay after she loses all her relatives in a communal riot in U.P., along with her uncle.
In this big city, she is made to work in a bar by her uncle so that they can manage to pay the rent. However, her Uncle starts living off her earnings & even rapes her. Frustrated at having to live along with the man who took advantage of her, she marries Potya, an underworld henchman. She constantly worries about the fate of her husband who is leading a dangerous life & promises to herself that she would never let her children lead a bad life.
The inevitable happens & Potya is killed by his own gang members by betrayal. Her son who is accidentally arrested is dropped at a remand home where he is sodomised by two of the inmates. To get him released, Mumtaz makes a heavy compromise with circumstances. On hearing her brother’s plight, Mumtaz’ daughter also starts working in her mother’s beer bar making life a full circle for Mumtaz as she sees her children begin to lead the life that she has led.
Tabu as Mumtaz portrays her role with aplomb. Especially, the variety of roles that she plays from an innocent girl to a helpless mother leaves everyone watching the film speechless. She is well supported by Potya, Iqbal ’Chamdi’ , Anna, & other characters.
The plus points of the film are the absence of songs, realistic scenes, a couple of hard-hitting dialogues, & a good story.