Garm Hava

In the immediate aftermath of independence and the 1947 partition, the Mirza family faces economic uncertainty. Banks and lenders grow reluctant to finance Muslim businessmen like Salim Mirza, threatening the shoe business. Salim hopes for peace at home in Agra while changes ripple through the community.

Halim quietly emigrates to Pakistan with his wife and son, signaling a fracture in the family and altering Salim's standing in the community. Kazim's engagement to Salim's daughter Amina becomes uncertain as the political divide widens. The family braces for a new normal shaped by migration.

With Halim's departure, the house is left in his name and labeled evacuee property. The Indian government mandates takeovers, forcing Salim Mirza's family to leave their ancestral home. The aging mother is deeply affected by losing the house she refuses to abandon.

Banks hesitate to lend to Muslim businessmen, leaving Salim unable to finance production. The family business suffers as Salim resists modernization, while his brother-in-law shifts his political allegiance to the Congress. Shrunken capital accelerates the decline of the Mirza shoemaking enterprise.

Kazim secretly crosses the border and returns, revealing his father’s opposition to his marriage to Amina. He receives a Government of Pakistan scholarship to study in Canada, but is arrested for traveling without a passport and not registering, and is repatriated to Pakistan. The struggle over love and allegiance intensifies the family’s burden.

Amina is heartbroken by Kazim's repatriation and the breakdown of their plans. Shamshad begins courting Amina, hoping to secure a place in the family and to stay connected despite the political upheaval. The shift in romantic prospects deepens the family’s personal turmoil.

Sikander endures a string of unsuccessful job interviews, with interviewers suggesting he would fare better in Pakistan. He and his peers become disillusioned and initiate an agitation against unemployment and discrimination. Salim tries to suppress the rising political energy within his own family.

Salim's brother-in-law, once a League supporter, falls into debt due to shady practices and ultimately flees to Pakistan. The family’s social and economic networks tighten under suspicion and strain. This adds to Salim's sense of isolation and vulnerability.

Baqar, Salim's elder son, sees the business collapse and contemplates migrating to Pakistan with his wife and child. The rift between staying and leaving widens, reflecting a larger exodus of Muslims from Agra. The family grapples with the consequences of failed adaptation.

Salim’s aged mother suffers a stroke but is brought to the beloved ancestral house for a final visit. She dies there, underscoring the personal toll of displacement and loss. The moment seals the family’s detachment from the house that anchored their identity.

While traveling in a horse-drawn carriage, a riot erupts and Salim is struck by a stone, leaving him injured. With his son and business broken, Salim commences a life as a humble shoemaker. This marks a stark shift from respected patriarch to struggling craftsman.

Shamshad's mother arrives from Pakistan, using Salim's connections to replenish her husband’s funds. She reveals that Shamshad’s marriage has been arranged with the daughter of a well-connected Pakistani family. The family’s trust in chance and romance continues to crumble.

Shattered by the collapse of Kazim’s plans and the realization that true marriage may no longer be possible, Amina commits suicide. Her death devastates the family and intensifies the sense of doom that hangs over their remaining years in India.

Salim is investigated by the police on espionage charges for sending plans of the former property to Karachi; he is acquitted in court but shunned in public. The stigma corrodes his standing in a newly wary society.

Salim finally resolves to leave for Pakistan, even as Sikander urges them to stay and fight for a democratic India. En route to the railway station, they join a crowd of protesters; Salim orders the carriage driver to return his wife home and himself joins the protest, symbolically ending his isolation. The film closes on this act of solidarity and defiance.