Bazaar

The film opens with Najma preparing in a Mumbai flat as Akhtar Hussain visits. He explains the pressures of an arranged marriage and says he must earn on his own to marry her. He mentions Shakir Khan's promised help and the flat's arrangement, while Najma recalls her family's past and the shame she felt when forced to sell herself. A flashback hints at a prior attempt to run away with Akhtar.

The next morning Salim, a renowned poet, visits Najma and reiterates his six-year love for her. He argues that Akhtar merely uses Najma for nights and has no intention of marrying her. He warns that Najma is living a life of lies in the eyes of society. The confrontation deepens Najma's sense of entrapment and moral doubt.

Najma and Akhtar receive Shakir Khan at the airport. He questions Akhtar's whereabouts and signals his interest in helping them by marrying a woman like Najma. He reveals his wish to marry a bride from Hyderabad and asks Najma to find one, setting the stage for a larger arrangement. The meeting hints at power and money guiding their fates.

Shakir asks Najma to host a party where he privately confesses his longing for a wife and a sense of home. A flashback shows his abusive wife and children, explaining why he seeks a bride through Najma. He pressures Najma to locate a suitable bride from Hyderabad to secure his family life. The episode reveals the personal cost of his ambitions.

The story shifts to Hyderabad, where Sarju and Shabnam fall in love. Nasreen secretly loves Sarju and helps arrange a meeting, while keeping her own feelings hidden. The lovers face social and familial obstacles as Najma's wedding plans loom in the background. The city's mood underscores the pressure to marry for money.

Najma buys jewellery and other items for the wedding, and the Mumbai wedding party travels toward Hyderabad. A flashback shows Salim's past visits to Najma in Hyderabad and her repeated refusals to marry him. The sequence highlights Najma's inner conflict between love, duty, and economic necessity.

In Hyderabad, Shabnam's mother cannot afford a good match, and Hajjan Bi promises to help when a suitable opportunity arises. Najma searches for a bride among the poor, witnessing girls displayed as prospects for money. The visit intensifies Najma's discomfort with the plan and the social marketplace she is part of.

During a gathering with the Mumbai wedding party, Shabnam's wedding is proposed to Shakir Khan. Shabnam is barely sixteen, shocking Najma. Akhtar urges Najma to push the arrangement forward, arguing poverty will force families to accept, while Salim protests the commodification of brides.

Sarju learns of the planned wedding and confronts Shabnam's parents about auctioning her happiness. He vows to stop the wedding or harm himself, while Najma begins to feel the harm she has helped cause. Salim condemns the system, emphasizing that marriage is a form of selling people for survival.

Shabnam is married to Shakir Khan despite her protests. She goes to the mazaar to untie the thread of her wish, but soon poisons herself. The wedding night reveals Shabnam's body on the bridal bed, devastating Sarju and the party. Najma feels immense guilt for her role in orchestrating the arrangement.

On the return journey to Mumbai, Najma tells Salim about Shabnam's death and the consequences of the wedding scheme. She openly owns up to her part in orchestrating the match and the harm it caused. The moment marks a personal reckoning as she confronts the reality of her actions.

Back in Mumbai, Najma rejects Akhtar, recognizing that he could betray her for money again. Akhtar breaks down, realizing he has been ruined by his ambitions. Najma accepts responsibility for her role and resolves to seek a different path, acknowledging the damage done by the money-driven schemes.