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Ajeeb Daastaans (2021) movie poster

Plot Summary

Ajeeb Daastaans (2021) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language
2021 · 142 mins · Hindi
Echo score 70
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Directed by
Neeraj Ghaywan, Kayoze Irani
Starring
Sara Arjun, Aditi Rao Hydari, Abhishek Banerjee, Shreedhar Dubey, Jaideep Ahlawat, Fatima Sana Shaikh

An anthology of four stories that explore the surprising ways in which unexpected catalysts inflame the uncomfortable emotions simmering under fractured relationships.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 What happens: full plot
  3. 3 Plot questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like Ajeeb Daastaans
  6. 6 Every angle
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Full plot summary · contains spoilers

What Happens in Ajeeb Daastaans: Full Plot Summary

The whole story of Ajeeb Daastaans (2021) explained, from the opening scene to the final frame: every key event, every twist and what it all adds up to. Read it as a quick recap before the sequel, to check a scene you missed, or to finally understand what really happened.

Lipakshi is married to Babloo but is unhappy with their relationship, and seeks affection from other men. When Raj Kumar, the son of their driver, joins their household as an employee, Lipakshi becomes interested in him. Raj, a talented finance graduate, decides to work for Babloo instead of taking a job offer in London, and proves to be profitable for the business. He also shows romantic interest in Lipakshi, without Babloo's awareness. Babloo does not have affection towards Lipakshi, but he feels the need to protect his family's reputation and does not tolerate her extramarital affairs. Despite this, Lipakshi continues to pursue Raj and eventually, they engage in a romantic relationship when Babloo is absent. The affair between Raj and Lipakshi becomes passionate, and they even plan to elope after a night of intimacy. The very same night, Babloo receives pictures of Lipakshi with Gopal, his trusted aide. He calls for Raj, who is about to leave, and reveals that he has fallen in love with him and would want to be with him forever. He shows the pictures to Raj. Raj, a little taken aback, tells him to handle Gopal while he goes for Lipakshi. Raj gets on a bus, and we see Lipakshi leaving with her bags. While beating up Gopal, Babloo sees a video of Raj kissing Lipakshi and is stunned. In the same video, Raj reveals that Gopal is innocent, and it was him who was Lipakshi's lover all along. He reveals that ever since Babloo broke his father's leg for crashing a car into a planter, all Raj wanted was revenge. So he stole a lump sum of 10 crores from Babloo while he worked for him and left the country along with his parents. After the reveal, Lipakshi is waiting at the railway station for Raj, who never arrives. Instead, Babloo finds her. She reveals she's pregnant, and they both hold hands, crying and bonding over their love for, and betrayal by, the same person.

The story opens with Meenal losing electricity at her home.

Meenal is a street-smart housemaid who lives in the slums along with her little sister Binny. She struggles to make ends meet and send her little sister to school. She works in a rich locality for a lady who is struggling to conceive. It is shown that Meenal holds contempt for the rich people she works for. When told about her electricity problem, her employer mentions that she could seek help from Vinod Agarwal, the new secretary of the locality. In the same locality is Sushil, who owns a small laundry stall. While in the locality, Sushil is seen cussing Meenal and his sister, but behind everyone's back, they are lovers. The story keeps flipping back and forth between the present, where Meenal is shown to be at a police station with a policewoman inquiring her about the 'incident' and her telling that she had nothing to do with it.

It is shown that Vinod Agarwal has a pregnant wife and has the hots for Meenal. He finds her at Sushil's stall and asks her to work at his place to help his wife. Meenal happily agrees, hoping to get in a word with him regarding electricity at her place. Meenal leaves her employer for Vinod Agarwal, and she is shown to have a good bond with the pregnant wife. When the wife is away, Vinod makes a move on Meenal, asking her to have sex with him if she needs electricity back. Binny witnesses this. Meenal leaves crying and goes to Sushil's stall. He is concerned and asks her about what happened. Later, Vinod Agarwal also arrives at Sushil's stall and starts hitting him for flirting with women and being insolent. Passers-by stop this fight, and the secretary apologizes for his misconduct. Vinod also invites Meenal, Sushil, and Binny to a party he and his wife are hosting to celebrate the birth of their son. In the present, the police bring Sushil to the station and beat him up. Meenal is warned that if she doesn't reveal what she did, it would be Binny's screams she'd be hearing next. Sushil begs the police to stop hitting him and tells him that he didn't do anything except breaking the transformer and that Vinod Agarwal made a move on Meenal. Meenal takes the name of her previous employer, saying she did it as she was jealous that she was infertile. We're taken back to the party where we see Meenal, Binny, Abha (the ex-employer) taking turns with the baby. Sushil arrives and is shown to be very angry. He steals some alcohol and heads out of the party, drunk, and breaks the transformer, leading to a power cut in the party. Vinod Agarwal and his wife get some flashlights and realize their baby is missing. They look for him, and Vinod goes to the kitchen to see the pressure cooker releasing blood instead of water. Abha arrives at the police station and says something to the police. The police then search Binny's bag and find the baby's toy in it. When asked if she took it from the baby, Binny replies that she did so because the baby was just a toy.

Bharti Mandal is a worker at a factory. She is well educated and qualified and is looking to get a higher-paying data operator job in the same factory. Her dreams are shattered with the arrival of Priya Sharma, who is given the position not because she has the right technical skills for the job but because she has the right connections. Bharti is bitter and is told by a co-worker that she didn't get the job because of her caste.

Priya arrives at the canteen for lunch and tries to strike a conversation with Bharti, who doesn't reciprocate. Bharti gets into an altercation with a male co-worker and is hurt. Priya tends to her wounds and tells her that she reminds her of her childhood friend Kavita. When asked her full name, Bharti lies that she's Bharti Banerjee. The two ladies go out together the next day when Priya reveals to Bharti that she doesn't know any of the technical skills required for the job but was only employed because of her palm-reading skills. This greatly hurts Bharti, and she cries while Priya hugs her. Slowly, they start developing a bond. Priya reveals to Bharti that her childhood friend Kavita doesn't talk to her anymore and is married and doesn't want anything to do with her because she's happy.

One day, Priya visits Bharti, and they have a moment. Priya is visibly upset and apologizes. Later on, Priya invites Bharti to her birthday party, where she lives with her husband and in-laws. Priya gets very emotional during the party, and when Bharti and Priya are alone, she reveals that she feels no love for her husband even though he's accommodating and nice. She also tells her that her husband wants a baby, and she doesn't feel right about it. Bharti tells her that it's not a defect and the only easy way out is to accept the truth. She then reveals to Priya that she's Bharti Mandal and that her family belongs to the lower Dalit caste whose women are traditionally in the midwifery business. This causes a change in Priya's attitude.

Priya is then thrown a surprise birthday party in the office with her company's higher officials. Bharti is not allowed and is only called in to serve cake to everyone. Bharti cries, and when Priya comes to her, she tells her that the best way to deal with her internal conflict is to have a baby and become a mother just like Kavita. She then goes on to help Priya conceive while she handles Priya's work. A now pregnant Priya goes on maternity leave, recommending Bharti to take over her responsibilities. After the birth, Bharti visits Priya. Priya's husband mentions that she'd return to work soon, but Priya's mother-in-law is completely against it. She asks Bharti for her opinion since she comes from a family of midwives. Bharti recommends against returning to work. Bharti goes to work and is told that Priya has quit and Bharti can now take over the job completely.

Natasha and Rohan are parents to Samaira, who is on the verge of going deaf. While Natasha is a loving and supportive mother, Rohan is a distant father, immersed in work and reluctant to learn sign language to communicate with his daughter. After an altercation with Rohan, Natasha visits a photo gallery where she meets Kabir, a deaf and mute photographer. They bond and start hanging out often. One day, Natasha visits Kabir's house, and they both have an intimate moment. Natasha walks out, realizing that it is wrong. However, she finds a text message from Rohan saying that he is busy with work and leaving Samaira at his mother's. This causes Natasha to go back to Kabir, and they make love. The next morning, Kabir wants to reveal his love for her but is hesitant. Natasha dresses up and leaves for her house. Kabir follows her, mustering the courage to reveal his feelings for her. Natasha reaches home and is happy to find Rohan communicating with Samaira in sign language, and they are both bonding, making jokes, and laughing. She's happy at this change and turns around to close the door only to see Kabir standing outside in tears. She does not know what to do and closes the door, apologizing and crying. Samaira, who has witnessed all of this, asks her mother if Kabir loved her.

Last updated: October 03, 2026 at 14:23

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Plot questions answered

Ajeeb Daastaans Plot Explained: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask most about Ajeeb Daastaans (2021): what happens in the confusing scenes, why the characters do what they do, the twists, hidden details and what the ending means. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Why did Raj betray Lipakshi in the end?

Raj never genuinely loved Lipakshi. He was the son of Babloo's driver, and his father's leg was broken by Babloo after a minor car accident. Raj had been plotting revenge ever since. He deliberately turned down a London job to get close to the family, seduced Lipakshi to destabilize Babloo's marriage, and stole 10 crores from the business before fleeing the country with his parents.

Foreshadowing: Raj's decision to reject the London offer and stay in a household where he had a personal grudge already hinted at ulterior motives.

  • raj
  • lipakshi
  • babloo
  • revenge
  • betrayal
  • ajeeb daastaans
Q2

What happened to Vinod Agarwal's baby at the party?

During the blackout caused by Sushil breaking the transformer, Vinod and his wife discovered their baby was missing. The police later found the baby's toy in Binny's bag. When asked why she took it, Binny chillingly replied that the baby was "just a toy," leaving the baby's actual fate disturbingly ambiguous. The story deliberately avoids confirming the worst, using the pressure cooker releasing blood as a dark symbolic image rather than explicit evidence.

Foreshadowing: Vinod's sexual proposition to Meenal and Binny witnessing it foreshadowed a form of retribution, though its exact form remains unsettling.

  • vinod agarwal
  • baby
  • meenal
  • binny
  • party
  • power cut
Q3

Why did Bharti recommend that Priya not return to work after having the baby?

Bharti was still bitter about losing the data operator job to Priya because of her caste. After Priya confided in her and leaned on her for emotional support, Bharti realized the pregnancy gave her a chance to reclaim the position. By helping Priya conceive, covering her workload, and then advising her to stay home, Bharti effectively engineered Priya's exit. The recommendation exploited Priya's own internal conflict about motherhood to serve Bharti's professional ambition.

Foreshadowing: Bharti's lie about her surname and the way she initially rejected Priya's friendship hinted at unresolved resentment beneath the surface.

  • bharti
  • priya
  • job
  • caste
  • maternity
  • manipulation
Q4

Why did Natasha close the door on Kabir at the end?

When Natasha reached home, she found Rohan finally learning sign language and bonding with their daughter Samaira, who was going deaf. This was exactly the change she had wanted, and seeing it made her choose her family over Kabir. Rather than confront the guilt or commit to a new relationship, she silently shut the door on a tearful Kabir, choosing the safer, familiar life even if it meant denying her own feelings and abandoning someone who truly understood her.

Foreshadowing: Natasha's earlier hesitation after her first intimate moment with Kabir already showed she was torn between desire and duty.

  • natasha
  • kabir
  • rohan
  • samaira
  • sign language
  • deaf
Q5

Why did Babloo reveal his love for Raj that night?

Babloo was depicted as a man who did not love his wife Lipakshi but fiercely protected his family's reputation. When he saw photos of Lipakshi with Gopal, his rage was less about her infidelity and more about being publicly humiliated. Calling Raj over and confessing his love was a way to redirect his need for connection and control toward someone he saw as a loyal, profitable employee. It was also a power play, an attempt to pull Raj into his world rather than lose him to Lipakshi.

Foreshadowing: Babloo's earlier protectiveness over family reputation, despite emotional distance from his wife, hinted at how he valued appearances over love.

  • babloo
  • raj
  • lipakshi
  • love
  • reputation
  • gopal
Q6

How did Raj manage to steal 10 crores from Babloo's business?

Raj was a talented finance graduate who deliberately took the job in Babloo's company to execute his revenge plan. By handling accounts and proving himself profitable, he earned Babloo's trust and access to the finances. Over time, he siphoned off a lump sum of 10 crores. The theft went unnoticed because Babloo trusted Raj's competence and was distracted by his own family turmoil. By the time the truth surfaced through Raj's video, the money had already been used to relocate Raj and his parents abroad.

Foreshadowing: Raj's rapid rise to a trusted financial role early in the story was a deliberate setup for the eventual theft.

  • raj
  • babloo
  • 10 crores
  • theft
  • finance
  • revenge
Q7

Why did Priya's attitude toward Bharti change after learning her real caste?

Until Bharti revealed she was Bharti Mandal from a lower Dalit caste traditionally associated with midwifery, Priya treated her as a confidante and equal. The moment caste was exposed, the dynamic shifted. Priya, who had earlier said she didn't love her husband, began using Bharti for domestic and emotional labor, including having her serve cake at her office party and asking her midwifery advice for her baby. The friendship was never equal; caste privilege reasserted itself as soon as it was named.

Foreshadowing: Bharti's original lie about her surname already showed how caste identity was something she felt pressured to hide in that workplace.

  • priya
  • bharti
  • caste
  • dalit
  • friendship
  • midwifery
Q8

Why did Binny say the baby was "just a toy"?

Binny was a young child who had witnessed Vinod sexually propositioning her older sister Meenal in exchange for electricity. The trauma and confusion of seeing adults treat her sister as a commodity likely shaped her understanding of how people and objects are exchanged. Her disturbing comment about the baby being "just a toy" reflects a child's distorted logic, where something precious can be treated as a possession to be taken. The line is intentionally ambiguous, leaving viewers to question whether the child harmed the baby or simply took its toy.

Foreshadowing: Binny watching Vinod's proposition earlier in the story foreshadowed her involvement in the climax at the party.

  • binny
  • meenal
  • baby
  • vinod
  • toy
  • party
Q9

Why was Lipakshi waiting at the railway station if Raj had already left the country?

Lipakshi was unaware of Raj's revenge plan. She believed they were genuinely eloping together after their night of intimacy, so she went to the railway station with her bags as planned. Raj, meanwhile, had already used the video confession as a smokescreen to escape, board a bus, and leave the country with the stolen money. The heartbreak of Lipakshi's wait is the story's final twist; she realizes she was just a pawn in a revenge plot she never understood.

Foreshadowing: Raj's vague excuses about handling Gopal first were the last signs that he was buying time to flee.

  • lipakshi
  • raj
  • railway station
  • elopement
  • escape
  • betrayal
Q10

What does the pressure cooker releasing blood instead of water mean?

The image of the pressure cooker releasing blood is a symbolic horror beat rather than a literal confirmation of what happened to the baby. It represents the violent consequence of Vinod's abuse of power and the way exploitation eventually erupts into something monstrous. By using a kitchen appliance, an everyday object tied to domesticity, the film suggests that the violence was born from the household itself, triggered by Vinod's predatory proposition and Sushil's broken protest at the party.

Foreshadowing: Vinod's earlier abuse of authority foreshadowed the household becoming a site of trauma rather than safety.

  • pressure cooker
  • blood
  • vinod
  • party
  • symbolism
  • violence
Q11

Why is Meenal being interrogated at the police station throughout the second story?

The police-station scenes serve as a framing device that the film keeps returning to. Meenal is being questioned about the missing baby and the sabotage at the party. The flashbacks reveal her account of what actually happened, including Vinod's sexual harassment, while the present-day scenes show the police using threats against her sister Binny to force a confession. The structure gradually reveals that the official story of a simple power cut hides a much darker chain of abuse and exploitation.

Foreshadowing: The first glimpse of Meenal at the police station hints that the story being told is not the full truth.

  • meenal
  • police
  • interrogation
  • binny
  • framing device
Q12

Why did Bharti lie about her surname when she first met Priya?

Bharti introduced herself as Bharti Banerjee to hide her lower Dalit caste identity. In her workplace, where she had already been denied a promotion in favor of a less qualified person, caste was a clear liability. By presenting as an upper-caste woman, she hoped to be judged on her merits. The lie was a survival strategy, but it also trapped her in a friendship that was never equal, and once Priya discovered the truth, the power dynamic shifted entirely in Priya's favor.

Foreshadowing: Bharti's immediate defensiveness toward Priya at the canteen suggested she was guarding something about her identity.

  • bharti
  • priya
  • surname
  • caste
  • dalit
  • banerjee
Q13

What does Samaira's final question, 'Did Kabir love her?', really mean?

Samaira asking whether Kabir loved her mother is heartbreaking on multiple levels. As a child on the verge of deafness, she has already been navigating a world of miscommunication, and now she witnesses her mother closing the door on someone who offered genuine emotional connection. The question also implies Samaira already understands that her father Rohan has not been emotionally present. Her words force Natasha to confront the fact that love was available but rejected, and that her daughter saw everything.

Foreshadowing: Samaira's keen awareness throughout the story, especially during Rohan's absences, foreshadowed her understanding of adult emotions.

  • samaira
  • natasha
  • kabir
  • love
  • deaf
  • sign language
Q14

Why did Raj reject the London job offer to work for Babloo?

Raj rejected the legitimate London offer because his real goal was never career advancement. As the son of Babloo's driver, who had been physically harmed by Babloo for a minor mistake, Raj was driven by a long-standing need for revenge. Working for Babloo gave him direct access to the family, their finances, and a vulnerable Lipakshi he could use to destabilize the household. The London job would have taken him far from the people he wanted to hurt.

Foreshadowing: Raj's calm explanation for staying hinted at a deeper motive that the audience only understands after the reveal.

  • raj
  • london
  • job
  • babloo
  • revenge
  • driver
Q15

Why did Babloo beat up Gopal if Gopal was innocent?

Babloo trusted Gopal as his aide, and the photographs of Lipakshi with Gopal were staged by Raj as part of his revenge plan. Raj had kissed Lipakshi on video and framed Gopal to misdirect Babloo's anger. Raj told Babloo to "handle Gopal" while he supposedly went after Lipakshi, knowing Babloo would attack the wrong person. The beating bought Raj the time he needed to escape, and only the final video revealed that Gopal had been a scapegoat all along.

Foreshadowing: Raj's instruction to Babloo about handling Gopal, delivered with unusual calm, foreshadowed the trap he had set.

  • babloo
  • gopal
  • raj
  • beat
  • framed
  • trap

Movie threads

More Movies Like Ajeeb Daastaans, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Ajeeb Daastaans tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Dark anthology dramas like Ajeeb Daastaans

Multiple fractured stories each peeling back a society's quiet, hidden wounds. Movies like Ajeeb Daastaans that use an anthology format to expose uncomfortable realities. These dark dramas weave together multiple short stories around caste, class, gender, and abuse, with provocative relationship stories designed to unsettle rather than console. If you liked Ajeeb Daastaans, expect layered subtext, fractured relationships, and social commentary that lingers long after the credits.

  • unsettling
  • provocative
  • cynical
  • tense
  • oppressive
  • raw
  • Tone: dark, unsettling, cynical
  • Pacing: variable across segments
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Stories in this thread typically follow an anthology structure where three to five distinct segments each examine a different facet of a shared theme, often caste, class, gender, or institutional power. Timelines may shift between past and present, characters rarely cross over, and each segment ends with a different emotional weight, ranging from bittersweet to deeply disturbing. The format allows for layered subtext, multiple twists, and reveal-style payoffs that build on each other to form a larger argument about the society being depicted.

Why they belong together: These films share an unsettling, cynical mood and a willingness to provoke rather than console. They layer subtext about social hierarchies onto intimate relationship conflicts, building tension through restraint and implication. Heavy emotional weight, high intensity, and a dark tone define the experience, with romance present but consistently distorted by power imbalance, exploitation, or coercion. The anthology structure gives each story room to leave its own unresolved scar.

Dark romance and exploitation films like Ajeeb Daastaans

Intimacy twisted by caste, coercion, and control until love feels like a trap. Movies like Ajeeb Daastaans where romance is warped by power, caste, and coercion. These heavy dramas expose how class divide, abuse of power, and manipulation turn desire into something dangerous, exploring infidelity, harassment, and revenge inside complicated relationships. If you liked Ajeeb Daastaans, expect uncomfortable relationship stories with devastating emotional payoffs.

  • distorted romance
  • power imbalance
  • coercive
  • manipulative
  • exploitation
  • uncomfortable
  • Tone: dark, tense, raw
  • Pacing: steady to slow burn
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Characters in this thread begin inside relationships or encounters that look like ordinary romance on the surface, but hidden power imbalances gradually surface. One partner may wield institutional, economic, social, or caste-based leverage over the other, and what begins as attraction or affection curdles into control, coercion, or retaliation. Twists often reveal that consent was compromised, that a lover was a manipulator all along, or that revenge has been quietly building beneath the surface of the affair.

Why they belong together: These films share a focus on intimacy weaponized by imbalance, where sexual harassment, infidelity, abuse of power, and manipulation form the emotional core. The mood is anxious, raw, and oppressive, romance is present but consistently distorted, and the heaviest tension peaks around reveal moments involving coercion. Endings lean toward the disturbing, ambiguous, or unresolved, and the emotional weight stays heavy from start to finish.

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Every angle

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