Original subtitles

♪ ♪

[horns honking]

[snoring]

[fan creaking rhythmically]

[train rattling]

-[camera beeps, clicks] -Years from now,

when you look at this photo,

you'll feel the sun on your face...

[camera beeps, clicks]

...this wind in your hair

and hear all these voices again.

Or it'll all be gone. Gone forever.

[camera clicks]

Taking pictures?

That is one of mine up there.

What do you mean?

Your son must be a genius!

Not my son. I have two daughters.

There, in the middle.

That's my younger one, Miloni.

Really?

The one with the crown?

Correct.

She finished first in the CA Foundation exam.

Now she's preparing for the CA Inter.

My son tried for CA as well.

But now he's going to America to do his MBA.

Hmm. [clicks tongue]

No, not this.

Something doesn't look right.

A moment.

Try pink.

Look, Miloni!

This looks so good on you.

Ah. [clicks tongue]

Mum's taste is the best!

That's why I always shop with her!

Go with pink, I'm telling you.

Hmm?

So... is pink final?

Yes.

Okay.

Let's go, Fazlu bhai. Pink is final.

Now give us a good price.

No advance payment.

Payment only upon delivery. We're not stupid.

-[quiet chatter] -[ship horn honks]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[quiet chatter]

Hey. Excuse me.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[camera clicking]

Photograph, madam?

With the Gateway or the Taj, madam.

Instant.

Years from now, when you look at this photo,

you'll feel the sun on your face,

this wind in your hair

and hear all these voices again.

Or it'll all be gone.

Gone forever.

50 rupees.

For you, 30.

Okay.

A bit to the right.

A bit more.

Madam, one paisa of a smile, please.

Just a paisa.

[camera beeping and clicking]

[printer whirring]

Here, this day in a photograph.

Let me put today in an envelope for you.

Miloni!

Hey, Miloni!

Miloni!

Rafi!

Rafi!

How's business?

This girl, she had me take a photo.

I was looking for the envelope and she ran off.

-Ran off? -Ran off.

She pulled the wool over your eyes.

She'll be in Dadar by now.

Rafi bhai,

I called the village yesterday.

Your grandmother was in our village asking about girls.

My aunt has four.

Your aunt with the mustache?

Yes, but the girls don't have mustaches.

-You marry them, then. -No, not me!

Your body has amassed all this anger.

Your grandmother is right to worry.

She said she'd pay a dowry for you if she had the money.

What do you say?

What should I say?

If you get married, at least you'll have

a warm body next to you at night.

You can go to the zoo with the kids,

an evening out with the wife...

Yeah, right.

The wife and kids will be in the village

while I'll be stuck here pining for them.

-You don't do it, either. -Why not?

You'd become a softie, like Zakir bhai.

Softie?

-What's a softie? -Never eaten a softie?

A softie is like ice cream.

Like kulfi, but not as hard.

It's so soft, it melts in your mouth.

Softie.

It melts in your mouth? So what use is it, madam?

That's what I'm saying!

How much do you need to send home this month, Rafi bhai?

All of it, madam.

Here. This, too.

Keep something for yourself, too, Rafi miyan.

Want a kulfi?

Why do you always eat kulfi only at the end of the month?

-My father, when he was alive... -Hey, Rafi miyan!

What's this I hear?

Your grandmother stopped taking her medicine?

Because you won't select a bride?

Where did you hear that, uncle?

His grandmother was asking around my wife's village.

What kind of girl do you want? You've never told me.

Well, you should've told me!

Look at that.

No one appreciates help these days...

[horn honking]

[food sizzling]

Two kulfis.

Rafi miyan, has Grandma really stopped taking her medicine?

It's high time you got married.

Rafi miyan?

Is it true what I heard about your grandma?

And then Rafi throws the kulfi

right in his face.

[laughter]

Then he says,

"I heard you like sweets,

son of a bitch!"

Rafi bhai,

if a boat isn't anchored at the right time,

-it can sink. -[laughter]

Absolutely, Rafi. 100%, you'll sink!

-He wants you to drown! -Let me tell you something.

Remember what I told you about Tiwari?

Zakir bhai, not that story again.

Let me tell it one more time.

Don't play that old record again.

You get too emotional.

Go on.

So this is what happened, Rafi miyan:

I woke up one morning and really had to pee,

but it was really hot.

So I'm thinking, "Why is it so bloody hot?"

And I look up

and see that the fan has stopped,

but Tiwari is swinging. He had hanged himself.

So Zakir peed right then and there.

[laughing, chattering]

Rafi miyan, think about it:

that man left without a word.

He didn't even leave a note.

Not even a note.

Who would he write it to, anyway?

To this day,

to this day, I can hear that man swinging...

from this fan. Even now.

[shuffling cards]

I swear in God's name he still paces around this room at night!

Enough Zakir bhai, you're ruining the party.

[laughter]

Rafi miyan, you should stop sulking like this.

Stop worrying about your grandma.

My mother,

she used to call and bug me all the time.

It got so bad, I could barely drive my rickshaw anymore.

The food is delicious, Rampyaari.

Thank you, didi.

Son? Eat properly.

You have to finish it all.

He doesn't eat well, Saloni.

It's not just the food, Papa.

It's the same with his studies.

If you don't study, what will you be when you grow up?

An actor!

[light laughter]

You know, Miloni wanted to be an actress when she was in school.

Really?

The teachers in school, my God!

They gave her trophy after trophy for drama.

You won trophies?

Finally I had to go and tell them, stop giving her prizes!

If she does drama all the time,

when will she have time for her academics?

-Rampyaari? -Yes, madam?

-Bring out the dessert! -Okay, madam.

-[train rattling] -[fan creaking rhythmically]

[snoring]

[floorboards creak]

Tiwari's ghost,

you don't scare me.

[floorboards creaking quietly]

[train rattling and squealing]

[unzips bag]

Dear Dadi, assalamu alaikum.

[beeps, whirrs]

I heard you've stopped taking your medicine.

Let me get straight to the point.

[printer whirring]

The thing is, Dadi,

I've met a girl here.

When I met her,

I felt you had picked her out for me.

Her eyes are full of questions but also full of answers.

Her smile... takes away all the troubles.

And her laugh... Remember the first rains on our farm?

Her name is beautiful, too.

[song playing faintly in Hindi]

♪ Oh, Noorie, Noorie... ♪

Her name is...

Noorie.

I'm sending you her photograph. I hope you'll approve.

Your obedient child, Rafiullah.

[footsteps jingling]

Anything else, didi?

-Good night, didi. -Good night.

[train horn blowing]

TEACHER: A person shall be eligible

for appointment as an auditor of a company

only if he is a chartered accountant.

Two: where a firm,

including a limited liability partnership,

is appointed as an auditor of a company,

only the partners who are chartered accountants

shall be authorized to act and sign

on behalf of the firm.

Three:

under subsection three... [voice fades]

[bird squawking]

[beeps, clicks]

What's the matter, Rafi miyan?

[chuckles]

You're drinking like a fish today.

His grandmother is taking her medicine again.

-Really? -Wow!

Did you agree to the marriage?

No way.

I told my grandma,

"Listen up, Dadi!"

"Listen up, Dadi."

"Listen up, Dadi"?

I mean, "Please understand, Dadi."

[laughing]

I told her, directly.

-What did you tell her? -What did you tell her?

That's the most important thing.

I said...

"Rafiullah is the name of the bird

that doesn't come in the hand."

"Doesn't come in the hand"?

Correct.

Well said!

Rafi miyan, don't lie to us.

What did you really tell her?

[train horn blowing in distance]

Well?

Zakir bhai...

I told her, directly...

"Until I've paid every cent of our debt..."

"...and we have our family house back, I won't get married."

I told her directly.

Well said, Rafi, well said!

Rafi miyan, understand this:

even a racehorse

gets old one day and then he can't run anymore.

Settle down.

Get married.

Well said!

Get married.

What do you say?

Zakir bhai, I'm not a softie like you.

I'm tough like...

...a kulfi. A kulfi!

Well said!

What's a softie?

[birds squawking]

This is Noorie?

[camera beeping]

-Huh? -Haan.

[ship horn blowing]

You couldn't choose a less pretty girl?

Your face is black like doomsday.

And look at her!

If I were Dadi, I'd come to see her directly.

When is Dadi arriving?

She's taking the Firozpur Janta Express.

It can take two days, or three.

Just tell Dadi the truth.

What?

You don't know Dadi, she'll chew my head off.

So tell her Noorie had to leave town for work.

She'll be back in a month. She'll meet you next time.

Until then, long live the Republic!

When we were children,

the headmaster threw me and my sisters out of school.

We couldn't pay the fees.

Dadi...

stood outside the school for three days.

Until they took us back.

-So? -So?

She didn't sit, she stood.

For three whole days.

So what are you going to do?

-TEACHER: Yes? -STUDENTS: No.

TEACHER: No? Sure?

-Why? -Is that you?

Because he has the shares in the company

-that he is auditing, -So pretty.

and that is a conflict of interest.

TEACHER: Right. Everyone understand?

-STUDENTS: Yes, sir. -TEACHER: What is it?

STUDENTS: Conflict of interest.

-Give it to Sneha. -TEACHER: Conflict of interest.

Uh, example two.

We have Mr. P.

Now, Mr. P is a practicing chartered accountant.

He has a cousin, Mr. Q.

Mr. Q holds interests in a company, ABC Limited,

of 90,000 rupees.

Hmm? 90,000 rupees, huh?

Now, is Mr. P,

the practicing chartered accountant,

eligible to audit company, ABC Limited?

So... What is this?

-Sir, nothing. -What are you doing?

-S-Sorry, sir. -Please give it to me.

Whose is this?

Where was I?

-STUDENTS: Mr. P. -Mr. P.

90,000 rupees, uh, investment.

Is he allowed to be the auditor?

[overlapping responses]

TEACHER: No. Why no?

[bus rumbling]

♪ ♪

[horns honking]

♪ ♪

Sir, can I have my photograph back?

You're a topper, right?

Yes, sir.

How are the classes going?

Good.

There's no problem then?

No.

Good.

[indistinct chatter]

[bell ringing]

[laughter, chatter]

[printer whirring]

Thank you, madam.

[cameras clicking]

Rafi miyan, when does your grandmother arrive?

In two days.

Don't forget to bring her over to visit us.

We want to pay our respects!

When does Dadi arrive?

-Rafi miyan! -Rafi miyan!

♪ ♪

DRIVER: Manish Nagar.

Manish Nagar. Chalo. Manish Nagar.

[brakes squeal]

[door opens]

[door closes]

[fan creaking rhythmically]

[horns honking]

[bell dinging]

[brakes squeal]

[door opens]

[door closes]

♪ ♪

[brakes squeal]

[door opens]

[door closes]

♪ ♪

Here, madam.

[birds squawking]

Thank you.

Wait!

Why did you give me the photo?

Madam, you asked for it, so...

No. Why did you give it to me in advance?

You could've given it to me once I'd met your grandmother.

Why did you give it in advance?

[clears throat quietly]

Do you want it back?

No, madam, you keep it.

If you could meet her just once...

But it's no problem.

[lively chatter, indistinct announcements]

[horns honking]

Dadi. Dadi.

Where were you?

I'm on time. Your train arrived early.

How was the journey?

A pregnant woman was in my compartment.

And she gave birth to a daughter.

Know what she named her?

-What? -Train Flower!

-[cell phone ringing] -Can you believe it?

I stayed up all night to throw a coin

into the Gomti River,

and someone else got the grandchild!

[phone continues ringing]

Noorie didn't come?

She had urgent work.

What's more important than me?

One second, Dadi...

[Dadi continues speaking]

Hello?

Haan.

[Rafi and Dadi both continue speaking]

-RAFI: Thank you. -[Dadi speaking]

Noorie says hello.

Let it be. "Hello-pello" nonsense.

Let's go.

♪ ♪

[quiet chatter]

[laughter]

♪ ♪

RAFI: Madam?

♪ ♪

[horns honking]

Dadi thinks your name is Noorie.

The night I wrote the letter,

a song was playing nearby.

The song from that movie, "Noorie."

So I wrote that your name is Noorie.

I couldn't think of anything else, so...

And how did we meet?

The same, at the Gateway.

Is there anything else?

I should know things.

I have two elder sisters.

And when we were kids, our parents, they...

I have an older sister, too.

Sahib,

are you and madam actors?

From a drama company?

Now it makes sense:

a girl like her... with you.

Give me back my change.

[coins jingling]

-Here. -No, thanks.

Have some.

No, thanks, I'm full.

You're full?

Rafi says you're a student?

I'm studying for my CA Inter to be a...

chartered accountant.

If my Rafi had continued his studies,

he would've become a compounder for sure.

His uncle was a very well-known

compounder in Kanpur.

Big-time doctors

would never make a move

without his advice!

Dadi, let it go.

Why should I let it go?

I have a mother's heart.

Soon, she'll be a chartered boat,

while you, as usual, will be paddling with your anchor down.

Look. See what he's done to himself,

working in the hot sun?

He's become a black raisin.

His skin used to be golden,

just like wheat.

Now look at him!

Not what he used to be.

Tell me,

how are your parents?

You didn't tell her?

They're gone.

Where?

A wall in our mosque collapsed.

And many people were crushed.

My father tried to save as many as he could

before the other wall fell on him.

My mother was crushed to death, too.

And my older sister.

So you're all alone in this world?

-Who do you live with? -At the women's hostel.

[spoon clinking in bowl]

Is this something to hide from me?

I had meant to give you this in a few days...

...when we knew each other better.

But life is so unpredictable, my child.

I got this for you.

They're very old.

They don't make them like these anymore.

Here you go.

I couldn't possibly.

-What? -They're yours.

Now they're yours, I said.

What are you looking at him for?

-Keep them. -Dadi.

I need to go pee.

Go.

They're beautiful.

[jewelry jingling]

What will you tell her?

I'll handle it.

She wants to buy a shalwar kameez tomorrow.

She wants me to come along.

[Rafi chuckles]

Thanks for meeting Dadi, madam.

Can you take more photos of me?

Of course.

Should we meet at the same time tomorrow?

♪ ♪

[engine starts]

Thank you, madam.

I didn't think she was nice at first:

"I won't eat this, I won't eat that..."

I mean, she was behaving...

like a fairy princess.

But then I thought,

"Maybe she can give me some beautiful great-grandchildren

that I can show off in the village."

Not that my Rafi isn't a catch...

[chuckling]

He does have his grandfather's crooked smile.

Show them the smile. Show it!

Smile for us, Rafi bhai.

Smile.

Give us a smile, please!

[Zakir continues speaking]

[laughter]

[footsteps jingling]

[jingling]

♪ ♪

[quiet chatter]

[footsteps jingling]

[jingling]

[jewelry jingling]

[footsteps jingling]

Anything else, didi?

Rampyaari.

Yes, didi?

Where did you get the anklets?

These?

From my village.

Used to be my mother's.

They're very old.

They're nice.

Thank you, didi.

Listen.

Sit, please.

-Do you need something? -No.

How are things in the village?

Good, didi.

I mean...

...what do people do at home?

It's just farmland, didi.

They all farm.

And?

They...

do housework.

Graze cattle...

And in the evening?

They come back from the fields.

The power goes off at night. No lights.

[chuckles]

There's a lot of peace there, didi.

I'll visit someday.

The village?

[laughs]

What would you do there?

Just look and see.

Stay with us.

I'll arrange everything for you.

It would be an honor for me.

Anything else, didi?

-No. -Biscuit?

No.

Rafi bhai!

[snoring]

Rafi bhai.

-[snoring continues] -Rafi bhai.

Did they actually meet or did you drug your grandma?

Rafi bhai!

Rafi bhai.

Rafi got both his sisters married off.

Single-handedly!

And he said to me,

"Dadi!

"Don't worry about a thing!

God willing, everything will be okay."

Forget about it, Dadi, it's old news.

"Old news," he says.

Maybe it's old news to you!

I'll say what I want.

Rafi paid for banquets

for both of his sisters.

The samosas were so good.

People were eating them

and stuffing their pockets with them to take them home!

When he saw them doing it,

he turned to me and said,

"Dadi!

Don't stop anyone today!"

[Dadi laughing]

Tell me,

what color do you like best?

Well?

-I don't know. -You don't know?

Why not?

How's that possible?!

Listen, Rafi.

Give me that one.

The orange one.

Look at this color. It'll look so nice on you.

What do you say?

Let's put it on you. There you go.

Look how it brightens you up!

[clanking, whirring]

[baby crying]

[elevator stops]

[doorbell rings]

[chatter, light laughter]

Here's Miloni!

India's number one herself!

Join us, please.

Please sit.

How are you, child?

I am Hasmukh, your father's business associate.

Not "business associate."

You're like family!

[laughter]

♪ ♪

[chatter resumes]

-Cola, didi? -Nahin.

WOMAN: Thank you.

His son is going to the USA to do his MBA!

HASMUKH: Here.

This is his photo, Chintan.

[chatter continues]

Mm. Handsome.

Want to see?

Do you have a photo of Miloni?

A recent photo?

There should be one somewhere.

Can we send it to you?

Who needs a photo when you've seen her face-to-face?

You're right.

KANTI: Personal touch is always better.

HASMUKH [chuckling]: Right.

I have a photo.

What photo?

I had it taken at the Gateway of India the other day.

Would you like it?

It's a nice photo.

One moment.

DADI: Rafi?

I was thinking you should start a business.

Your work isn't steady.

It doesn't make you enough money,

all this running around for a few rupees.

Don't worry, I'll do it.

Start a small factory.

You need a proper business.

Okay, Dadi.

I will.

If the girl makes more money than you,

who will you show your face to then?

And what will your kids say? Ever consider that?

Dad eats what Mom earns?

Son, I even worry about your kids.

Stop it, Dadi. God is watching over everyone.

You've finally found a girl,

and if you don't make more money,

you'll lose her.

Don't worry, I'll start a factory. Okay?

I've seen the world. A mother's heart can only weep.

Should I place a stone over it?

Don't. Don't place a stone over it.

Why would I place a stone over it?

That's what I'm saying: don't do it.

It's obvious...

Why would I place a stone over it?

You remember what happened with Kunjiben, right?

Once she qualifies,

she'll find a good job and a good husband as well.

Don't be so naive.

A good match doesn't come by every day.

His son is going to the USA.

And maybe Miloni could also study there.

We can't send her there ourselves, can we?

♪ ♪

[ship horn blowing]

Look, look.

It's a miracle of God.

My Rafi has the same crooked smile as his grandfather.

[Dadi laughing]

How did you meet Rafi's grandfather?

Oh, forget it. That's ancient history.

How did you two meet?

We met at the Gateway of India. I told you, remember?

And then?

Then...

I went for a stroll.

And...

I heard this voice calling me from behind.

I turned around and there he was with that crooked smile.

[Dadi laughing]

Then he took my photograph

and wouldn't accept any money from me.

Wouldn't accept any money?

I mean...

What do you mean?

Tell me more.

When I saw the photograph...

I didn't see myself.

Why not?

I saw someone else.

She was happier than me.

DADI: Mm.

And prettier than me.

[Dadi chuckling]

And then we started meeting every day.

Now, listen to my story.

In the old days,

you had to get married when your parents said so, but...

[horn honking]

[horn honks]

[thunder rumbling softly]

Is there a place for chai?

I know a place nearby.

Let's go have chai.

Chai is good.

Very good.

I've noticed, you don't drink cola.

You always refuse cola. You don't like it?

Remember Campa Cola?

Haan.

When I was a child,

my grandfather used to buy me Campa Cola every day.

Then he died and they stopped making Campa Cola.

RAFI: Mm.

I don't feel like drinking any other cola.

I understand. Nothing wrong with that!

My father used to take us for kulfi at the end of each month.

Now if I ever eat kulfi,

it has to be on the last day of the month.

Otherwise, I don't.

-Let me get it. -No, no.

You can get it tomorrow.

Tomorrow...

Dadi is going to Nalasopara.

My cousin Zohra lives there.

So, tomorrow...

we won't be able to meet.

Haan.

But if you happen to have time, we could go to a movie tomorrow.

Where do you go for movies? I mean, in what movie theater?

Usually, I don't have the time.

The problem is that there's no time these days.

It feels like everyone's always running, running, running,

these days.

[song playing in Hindi over car radio]

Sir, can you turn the volume up, please?

[music volume increases]

[song continues over speakers, projector rattling]

♪ ♪

-[rat squeaking, scurrying] -[gasps]

Just a rat scuttling over your feet.

It's gone now.

Don't worry.

[song fades]

[footsteps jingling]

Anything else, didi?

No.

Biscuit?

[beeping, clicking]

[printer whirring]

-[beeping, clicking] -[printer whirring]

Dadi was right.

She looks nice in the photograph

but just so-so in real life.

Shut up.

Why are you angry?

Who's angry?

[speaking Hindi]

30 rupees, 30 rupees.

[Rafi speaking Hindi]

Sir, 30 rupees.

Sir, sir.

What are they doing?

Looks like they're buying ice candy.

It's been years since I've had one of these.

You have one, too.

-You shouldn't have it. -Why not?

It's exam time. You'll fall sick.

Why would she get sick?

Trying to save money all the time!

Be quiet and buy us both one ice candy each!

Rafi bhai?

Buy an ice candy for me, too.

Give me one!

[Dadi speaks Hindi]

Mmm...

[Dadi laughing]

Dadi forced you to eat ice candy.

No problem.

She's always been like that.

She's very nice.

When we were little,

at dinnertime,

Dadi would make us laugh so hard.

We would forget we hadn't eaten.

We forgot that we were hungry.

And that there was no food at home.

[passing car honks horn]

♪ ♪

There's something...

purple on your lips.

[car honks horn]

Here.

A bit higher.

[horn honking]

So, young lady, when did this problem begin?

-Last night. -Last night?

She had ice candy from the street, Doctor.

[laughing]

Most adventurous young lady!

I remember your grandfather.

He used to bring you in when you were this little.

You used to love that cola. Which one was it?

-Campa Cola. -Campa Cola, that's it!

Don't worry at all. It's a very simple case of gastro.

Doctor.

She should know better than eating things on the street.

[doctor chuckling]

The longer I live, the more pain I have.

But the longer I live,

the pain hurts less.

If your daughter eats street food every day,

she'll become immune to it.

She has her CA Inter exams coming up.

CA Inter exam?

Young lady?

No street food it is!

Mr. Shah? Here's the prescription.

You can pick it up outside...

Rafi?

-Hey, Rafi! -Hmm?

Wake up! Stop this hmmm, hmmm!

I don't understand.

Why didn't she come today?

I hope she's okay.

I told you not to make her eat ice candy.

She must've fallen ill because of you. What else?

How could she fall ill?

I mean, we all ate the same thing.

Go to sleep, Dadi.

How can I sleep, son?

Where did you find such a delicate girl

who eats just one ice candy and falls sick?

Don't worry, Dadi jaan.

My Ruksana was also very delicate.

Her family pampered her a lot.

After we got married, she adjusted to our circumstances.

Her parents must've given her a comfortable life.

Rafi's love will help her digest ice candy someday.

Don't worry. Go to sleep.

Sleep now.

[Dadi groaning quietly]

[creaking]

What's that sound?

Tiwari has just joined us.

Who's Tiwari?

Tiwari is our resident ghost.

We've all heard his steps, Dadi.

No one gets peace in Mumbai, not even in death.

Easy, easy. Careful.

[chatter continues]

Good-bye, friends.

Parting is hard.

I'll miss you a lot.

[music playing, audience cheering over TV]

[quiet chatter]

Don't trouble yourself, Dadi.

It's no trouble at all, my child.

I told him to bring Noorie along,

but she's studying for her exams.

Poor girl.

She's all alone in the hostel.

Had she come,

she would've loved your biryani.

It's very good. Very tasty, really.

[engine starts]

[horns honking]

Evening outing, sir?

Very good.

Are you from up north, sir?

-Haan. -Ah.

I knew it the moment you spoke!

I'm from Gonda, and you?

Balia.

Balia!

What are the odds?

Your home is only 40 kilometers from mine!

I can leave my house at dawn and be at your house by breakfast!

Have you been to his village, madam?

No?! You should definitely go.

You'll love it.

You know, madam?

A friend of mine, my roommate,

his wife was also from Mumbai...

Brother, please focus on your driving.

This is my daily work.

This is what I do every day: talk and drive.

One eye on the road, always.

So where were we, madam?

Getting back to my friend and his wife...

Why should we care about your friend?

Be quiet and focus on driving, please.

You know what?

This is too much!

One moment, I'm your brother from the village.

The next, I'm a stranger.

You told me to shut my mouth!

I didn't tell you to shut your mouth.

I just told you to...

drive safely. That's all I said.

Sir, I'm an educated man.

When did I say you weren't?

I have an M.A. from Banaras Hindu University

in English Literature.

It's all God's will.

♪ Some of us have to drive a taxi ♪

♪ While others get to paint the town red. ♪

[driver honks horn]

Keep it moving!

Get a bit closer.

[camera clicks]

And now: put your arm around her.

She's not a live wire!

Now look at each other.

Smile, please!

[camera beeps, clicks]

[camera clicks]

-Show me. -One second, Dadi.

Show me!

Just a second!

Mm, mm.

Look, what a nice photo!

Yes, it's a very nice photo!

Oh, wow, wow...

Look, they look so nice together.

Looks like a rasgulla and a gulab jamun on the same plate!

[Dadi laughing]

[footsteps jingling]

[Dadi and Banke chattering]

[footsteps jingling]

[sets dishes on table]

Miloni?

Do you remember Hasmukh bhai from the other day?

His son Chintan is leaving soon for the USA.

We were thinking, why don't you both...

meet each other?

Just as friends.

Okay.

Good. [chuckles]

♪ ♪

Anything else?

Need anything, didi?

He's not my boyfriend.

You're smart and educated, didi.

I am a nobody.

Don't worry.

I won't tell madam or sir a thing.

Thank you.

Didi?

What about...

the boy they're having you meet?

Sir and madam were saying...

What were they saying?

This boy they want you to meet...

He used to be fat.

Now he's thin.

Meet him and see.

What if he gets fat again?

Think about it.

[chuckles]

Good night, didi.

Good night.

CHINTAN: That photograph that you had sent...

you look very nice in it.

You look very nice.

Thank you.

So, you like it here?

In Mumbai?

Yeah.

I miss it, too, sometimes.

But... [sighs]

I feel like, uh... I feel like I could live anywhere.

I-I could be happy anywhere.

But to be honest, uh,

I'd like to live away from my parents.

[both laugh]

My dad told me you finished first in the CA Foundation exam.

-Mm. -Wow.

Oh, please, have it.

I'm watching my weight, so...

Where would you like to live?

You know, here or...

In a village.

In a village?

What would you do in a village?

I'd farm in the morning

and nap in the afternoon

under a tree.

[chuckles]

GROUP: ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

♪ Happy birthday, dear... ♪

[singing fades]

♪ ♪

[clapping, cheering]

-I have to go. -Hmm?

I have a class.

Oh, uh, already?

Let me drop you?

Thank you.

Nice to meet you.

♪ ♪

-How was the birthday party? -Good.

How could she reject him after meeting just once?

She's right.

It's a tendency.

What if he puts on all the weight again?

You seem very happy about it.

Who's happy?

[traffic rumbling, horns honking]

Rafi miyan,

I've been considering shutting down this kulfi business.

And getting a softie machine instead.

You know what a softie is? It's made with a machine.

So soft, it melts in your mouth.

[chuckles]

♪ ♪

Hello, uncle!

-Rafi miyan! -Can I have a razor blade?

Is that all?

And soap.

And a comb, too.

Razor, soap, comb.

How much?

We'll settle up later. Don't worry.

Uncle?

Do you remember Campa Cola?

Huh?

Campa? Why?

They must still sell it somewhere?

They stopped making Campa when my beard was still black.

A friend of mine wants some.

He can pay a good price. Not too much.

You won't find it anywhere.

Can we ask someone?

What's that fragrance?

It's the magic of Rafi's new cream!

Instant fairness in two weeks.

This is all Dadi's doing. What do you say, Dadi?

Who listens to me anymore?

Dadi, I think the new cream is working.

Rafi is glowing in the dark like a firefly.

[light laughter]

Should I bring Noorie to the Gateway this evening?

Why should I be a bone in your kebab?

Who said you're a bone in my kebab?

I'm going to Nalasopara to see Zohra again.

Understood?

Is everything all right?

Everything's fine, son.

What could be wrong?

I'm going.

Go, go.

I'm going.

Go.

Go.

-Should I go? -Just go!

I'm going.

Those were the days.

Campa flew off the shelves.

Now it's gone forever.

Gafoor bhai told me

you'd know where I can find it.

It's been years since anyone came looking for Campa Cola.

You're the first.

There must be a Campa factory somewhere.

It's a big country.

Correct.

The country is big.

But the country's memory is very small.

[clicks tongue, sighs]

Many years ago, a man came here, just like you,

a Parsi gentleman.

His wife loved Campa Cola.

When the factories started closing down,

he bought the Campa Cola formula

and set up a factory in his house

so his wife could keep having Campa.

He must still make it, right?

I don't know.

I don't know if he's dead or still alive.

Do you know his name?

Soda Bottle...

-Mr. Sodabottlewallah. -Mr. Sodabottlewallah?

Do you have an address?

[man sighs]

Your friend must like Campa Cola a lot...

Is it a special friend?

[horn honking]

Miloni. Miloni.

-Everything okay? -Yes, sir.

Yeah?

Can I drop you somewhere?

-No, thank you, sir. -I can drop you, no problem.

-No, it's okay, sir. I'm fine. -Wait one second.

One second.

[door opens]

[door closes]

Shall we go for coffee? Or one tea?

Sir, I'm getting late.

I still have that photo you gave me.

Come.

One quick coffee.

Come now. I know a place just here.

Around the way. It'll take five minutes.

Sir, I have to go home. I'm getting late.

Everyone has five minutes.

Come. Yes.

-[car door opens] -RAFI: Madam?

Everything okay?

Yes, man, of course it's okay.

This is my student.

I'm a teacher.

Off you go!

Go now!

Miloni. Miloni.

-One second, one second. -Sorry, sir. I have to go.

-You okay? -Yes.

I'm okay, too.

That guy's your teacher?

How can he...?

He shouldn't have grabbed your hand like that.

When I got out, I felt like doing something,

but I couldn't.

♪ ♪

Where to, sir?

Sir, where to?

♪ ♪

[rain pattering]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[song playing in Hindi]

♪ Oh, Noorie ♪

♪ Noorie ♪

♪ ♪

[song continues in Hindi]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[footfalls on stairs, trapdoor creaks open]

They're hot and fresh!

♪ ♪

[train passing outside]

♪ ♪

[footsteps approaching]

Anything else, didi?

Good night, didi.

Good night.

[footsteps departing]

[train rattling in distance]

[floorboards creaking]

[footsteps approaching]

She hasn't slept a wink either.

Tiwari?

Are you Tiwari?

Do you smoke bidi?

Can I have one?

[door opens]

[train horn blowing in distance]

Do you miss it?

Smoking bidi?

No.

I don't miss bidi.

Why did you kill yourself?

I woke up to pee one night,

thought about hanging myself, and so I did.

Why?

There was someone...

Who?

A girl.

What was your trade when you were alive?

I was a farmer back in the village,

and here I did anything I could find.

I'm a photographer. At the Gateway.

Do you get by?

Yeah, sort of.

It's okay.

[sighs]

But I won't do it for long now.

I'm thinking of starting my own business.

You know Campa Cola?

Mm.

I'm thinking of starting a Campa Cola factory.

♪ ♪

Should I?

Why not?

♪ ♪

[footsteps passing, jewelry jingling]

♪ ♪

I've fixed up all of your shirts.

Don't you have to go meet Zohra again?

No.

Listen,

I want to talk to you about something important.

Sit down.

Right here.

Hmm... [speaks Hindi]

I'm your grandmother.

Not a child.

Nothing gets past me.

That girl,

she's not from our religion.

And her name isn't Noorie, but something else...

The other day,

I saw her on a big poster.

Have you seen it?

I was very angry that day.

I felt very bad.

But I went back again the next day.

They'd changed the billboard.

And you know what they'd put up instead?

It was an ad for Home Loans instead.

With a mother, father, and two children.

Hmm?

For years now,

I've watched you toil

and try to pay back your father's debts.

For what are you struggling, day and night?

Dadi, I'll repay the debt

and get our house back for you.

Stop this nonsense!

I remember the hard times too, son.

I raised all of you by myself.

All three of you.

Did you just cry all the time then?

Did we never laugh?

Then stop wearing those years like a medal!

Forget about it, son.

Forget those days. Forget that house.

Forget all those people. Forever.

Hmm?

Understood.

What do you understand?

I said I understand!

Don't you shout!

I have a mother's heart, son.

♪ ♪

[machinery clanking and whirring]

[glass clinking]

[doorbell ringing]

[clanking and whirring continue]

[knocking]

[clanking and whirring continue]

[clanking and whirring stop]

[doorbell ringing]

[birds cawing outside]

♪ ♪

[machinery rumbles and creaks]

[machinery whirring, glass clinking]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[machinery rattling, bottles clinking]

[machinery stops]

For your special friend. Serve chilled.

Thank you, sir.

WOMAN: Excuse me.

Is that you up on the billboard?

No.

[song playing in Hindi]

[song continues, projector rattling]

Just a rat scuttling over your feet.

It's gone now.

Don't worry.

♪ ♪

-[song stops] -[laughter in distance]

[projector rattling]

Are you all right?

I'm all right here.

They have good samosas here.

You're missing your movie.

I know the rest of the story.

You've seen it before?

No.

After this song,

the boy and girl fall in love.

And then the girl's parents will object.

The boy's a...

He's an ordinary motor mechanic, so...

The stories are all the same in movies these days.

The same.

Shall we go?

Yes, let's.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[music fades]