Lal Patthar

A family goes to Fatehpur Sikri for a picnic. They meet an ominous old man who says the fort's stones are steeped in blood-stained stories and urges them to seek Lal Patthar, the red stone.

The old man recounts the Rai Nagar saga: Raja Raghav Shankar Rai, a bandit, sexually assaults a peasant woman named Sonmai and makes her his wife. Sonmai curses the family with madness, linking the ancient curse to the present.

In the modern frame, Gyan Shankar Rai is the sole male heir, with his grandfather Raja Ram Shankar Rai mentally unstable. As a child, Gyan stops his drunk father from assaulting a palace maid, shaping his sense of duty.

Gyan is sent to Allahabad to study history and psychology, returning later with his servant Chhotu. He learns about governance, but remains wary of Sonmai’s curse and the need to marry to secure the throne.

In the jungle, Gyan hunts a man-eating tiger and fends off bandits who carry a palanquin. He discovers Saudamani, the widow of Gokul, hidden inside the palanquin and brings her back to his house.

Gyan sends Saudamani to the palace; Gokul’s mother initially rejects her as unchaste, but the guards’ guns force acceptance. Saudamani is taken in as Madhuri, and Gyan begins educating her, though her manners clash with his world.

Ten years pass and Gyan, weary of palace life, runs away and meets a younger Sumita at a singing function. Sumita’s father Harishchandra Chakraborty is deep in debt and arranges a marriage to Gyan for money; Sumita’s mother Madhu opposes but is overruled, while Sumita had a close friendship with Shekhar who taught her music.

Madhuri resents Gyan’s marriage to Sumita and becomes jealous of Sumita’s ties with Shekhar. She begins insinuating that Sumita and Shekhar might reunite, planting seeds of distrust in Gyan.

Madhuri arranges for Shekhar to visit Sumita in her room, claiming it is a directive from Gyan. Gyan is away at the time and remains unaware of Madhuri’s plotting.

Gyan returns to find Shekhar with Sumita in her room and misreads their relationship as a conspiracy against him. He confronts them, while Madhuri’s manipulation deepens the rift.

Gyan writes to Shekhar to come to Agra and takes Sumita to the grave of Maulana Salim Chisti, seeking a deeper connection and testing their bond. The visit stirs unresolved tensions regarding their future.

On a full moon night, Gyan lures Shekhar to Fatehpur Sikri fort and stages a ghostly act. He replaces blanks with real bullets, killing Sumita and Shekhar, and Gyan’s mind shatters from the carnage.

Gyan wanders the fort, waiting for Sumita’s ghost on every full moon, his sanity in ruins. It is revealed that Madhuri is alive and has been secretly playing Sumita to comfort him.