Water

In 1938 India, eight-year-old Chuyia is widowed and sent to a dilapidated ashram for widows. She is dressed in a white sari, her head is shaved, and she is told to renounce the rest of her life. The ashram houses fourteen women who bear the burden of expiation and the emotional strain on their families.

The ashram is ruled by Madhumati, a pompous elder who is supported by Gulabi, a hijra who supplies cannabis. Gulabi helps Madhumati prostitute Kalyani by ferrying her across the Ganges to customers. This reveals the grim corruption sustaining the ashram and its residents.

Chuyia quickly befriends Kalyani and Shakuntala, forming tentative alliances within the harsh confines of the ashram. Shakuntala is literate and vocal, often clashing with the rules that constrain her. The trio begins navigating their grim realities together.

Kalyani develops feelings for Narayan, a charming upper-class follower of Gandhi. She begins to envision a new life, planning to marry him and move to Calcutta. Her dream represents a rare spark of hope amid the misery.

Chuyia accidentally reveals Kalyani's affair with Narayan to Madhumati. Afraid of social disgrace and losing a crucial income stream, Madhumati locks Kalyani up to control the situation. The stability of the ashram hangs in the balance.

Despite the risk, Shakuntala helps Kalyani slip out to meet Narayan. Narayan then ferries her across the Ganges toward his home, hoping to begin their life together. The journey marks a brief escape from the cycle of exploitation.

Kalyani discovers that Narayan is the son of one of the men who pimped her out. Narayan confronts his father over the revelation and, disgusted, chooses to walk away from his family and join Gandhi’s movement. The personal betrayal deepens the rift between generations and loyalties.

Narayan returns to the town to retrieve Kalyani, only to learn that she has drowned herself. The loss underscores the tragedy of the women trapped by circumstance and the limits of their agency. The ashram mourns another life claimed by the oppressive system.

With Kalyani gone, Madhumati orders Chuyia to be prostituted as a replacement. The plan to sustain the operation of the ashram demonstrates the hard, ongoing exploitation faced by the youngest residents. The cycle of abuse continues to churn.

Shakuntala learns of the looming danger to Chuyia and tries to intervene, but she is too late. She cradles the traumatized girl and spends the night by the river, activated by a mix of faith and fear for the child’s future.

News that Gandhi will speak at the train station spreads through the town, and Shakuntala joins the crowd to seek his blessing. The crowd’s energy represents a glimmer of hope and moral awakening amidst oppression. The scene ties the personal fates of the widows to the broader anti-colonial movement.

In a desperate moment, Shakuntala runs beside the departing train and hands Chuyia to Narayan, hoping to save her. The train pulls away with Chuyia, while Shakuntala is left heartbroken and alone in the station’s wake. Narayan becomes the child’s unlikely guardian on the moving journey away.