Dharam Sankat Mein

Dharampal Trivedi, Paresh Rawal, a Gujarati Hindu caterer, lives in Ahmedabad with his wife, Alka Kaushal, and two grown children. His elder son pushes him toward an engagement with a girl chosen from a strict Hindu sect, a plan that only deepens Dharampal’s scorn for Muslims. He begins each day by humming the old songs of a Punjabi Sikh pop singer, Manjeet Manchala, Gippy Grewal, who has long since stopped releasing albums and vanished from the public eye. His routine is punctuated by tense clashes with their Muslim neighbor, Nawab Mehmood Nazim Ali Shah Khan Bahadur, Annu Kapoor. On a routine visit to his late mother’s bank vault to retrieve belongings, Dharampal uncovers adoption papers dating back to 1960, revealing that he was adopted. Curious and unsettled, he digs into his origins and visits the orphanage where he was raised, learning that he was biologically Muslim. Shocked and wary of the consequences, he decides to keep the truth to himself for now, telling Nawab that he is Muslim and that he must locate his biological father, Meer Shaukat Ali, to speak with him. Meer is elderly and frail in a senior home, and the Imaam who cares for him warns that Meer’s health could be harmed if he discovers his son was raised as a non-Muslim. Dharampal is urged to learn how to become a true Muslim before attempting to meet Meer again.

With the help of Shah, Dharampal begins to adopt Muslim customs and ways, though the Imaam remains cautious about whether his conversion is genuine. Parallel to this, Dharampal’s son Amit falls for Shraddha, and to win her father’s approval, he must convince Shraddha’s devout father, who follows the spiritual godman Neelanand, a figure embodied on screen by Naseeruddin Shah. In order to facilitate the match, Dharampal agrees to align himself with Neelanand and the path he represents.

Trouble intensifies when Dharampal publicly acknowledges that he is a born Muslim, a revelation witnessed by his family and Shraddha’s father. Neelanand cautions against the engagement, and the family begins to drift apart from Dharampal. A formal complaint is filed accusing him of offending Islam, and in court the Imaam appears as a character witness detailing Dharampal’s alleged dislike for Islam. The defense, led by Nawab—now Dharampal’s attorney—turns the table by accusing the Imaam of attempting to steer Dharampal toward Islam.

The court eventually grants Dharampal permission to visit Meer, yet Meer dies before they can meet. Fueled by anger, Dharampal sets out to bring down Neelanand, whom he now views as the root of his troubles. A crucial discovery links Neelanand to Manjeet Manchala through a rare eyelid twitch, confirming that the two are one and the same person. This revelation fuels Dharampal’s public confrontation, where he exposes Neelanand as a fraudulent Sikh masquerading as a revered spiritual figure, noted for a history of affairs and deception. He delivers a pointed argument that the choice of religion should not define one’s character as long as one acts righteously.

In the aftermath, Dharampal’s family reconciles, and Amit receives permission to marry Shraddha, bringing the journey full circle with a message about integrity and the futility of prejudice.

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:45