Ram Joshi is a Brahmin poet, who through his love of poetry and dance starts associating with the tamasha artists. He falls in love with the tamasha dancer Baya. The film follows his descent into acoholism and his redemption from it through poetry.
This film addresses the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu organization emphasizing celibacy and discipline, which became the power base of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).