Set in 1950s Calcutta against the partition of India, the plot follows two rival factions born out of the divided leadership of the radical IPTA theater movement. Amidst their intense creative differences, a romance develops between two uprooted refugees, Bhrigu and Anusuya.

After an old college friend offers him a job at an iron foundry, the upright and honest Ishwar leaves a shanty town on the outskirts of Calcutta where he lives with a group of refugees from East Bengal. With plans to forge a solid living for himself, sister Sita and Abhiram, an orphaned boy he offers a home to, Ishwar is accused of selling out and deserting his people.

Arati takes a job as a door-to-door saleswoman in Calcutta's wealthy neighbourhoods, in defiance of her traditionally-minded husband, Subrata, and his live-in parents. Emulating her Anglo-Indian friend Edith, who speaks equal to the men she encounters on the job, Arati quickly becomes her firm's top salesperson. When Subrata loses his job, the power dynamic begins to shift.

A group of six friends desperately try to find a suitable bride for their friend Ganesh. One of the six friends is already married and now wants even Ganesh to get married soon.

Aparna, the only daughter and the apple of her mother's eye is engaged at a young age to her childhood friend, Ajay. After her mother’s death, her father remarries, and her stepmother begins to mistreat her. Desperate, Aparna flees with the help of Baren, a local goon with a good heart. She stays with Baren for safety and becomes involved in his group, though she urges him to turn his life around. Baren vows to protect her. One day, Aparna meets a stranger who turns out to be Ajay, and they are reunited. Baren is eventually arrested for his crimes but ensures Aparna's safety.