The year is 1893 and India is under British occupation. In a small village, the tyrannical Captain Russell has imposed an unprecedented land tax on its citizens. Outraged, Bhuvan, a rebellious farmer, rallies the villagers to publicly oppose the tax. Russell offers a novel way to settle the dispute: he challenges Bhuvan and his men to a game of cricket, a sport completely foreign to India. If Bhuvan and his men can defeat Russell's team, the tax will be repealed.
In a remote village, over a single day, four characters respond differently to the death of an upper-caste man named Shivaji.
When Neelesh, an idealistic law student from a marginalised section of society, steps into a prestigious institution, he is thrust into a world that doesn't reflect his own. His friendship with Vidhi offers hope-until a wave of tragedy exposes the deep-rooted hierarchies he tried to outrun. He must confront the invisible forces that shape who we are allowed to become and who we are allowed to love.
Circa British Rule in India, a man vows to make his only surviving son, Narayan, alias Nani, a Brahmachari to atone for the deaths of five of his children. He takes this child to a remote village in Karnataka, South India, where he leaves his 11 year old son in the care of a learned Archarya, Udup Pandit. Here Nani gets to meet two other disciples of the Archarya, as well as his widowed daughter, Yamuna, and another male by the name of Shrikar Upadhyay, who also teaches the British how to read and write in Hindi. The Archarya goes away for a few days, and when he returns nothing is the same anymore. His daughter is pregnant, the villagers are all set to remove her from the village, they are also angry with him for refusing Yamuna to follow the traditional way of a Hindu widow.
Madhukar and Parthavi fall head over heels in love with each other, but the fact that they belong to different castes of society, becomes an obstacle in their romance. The lovers dare to go against societal norms and battle all odds for the sake of love.
Sivaraman belongs to a low caste and is a cobbler by profession. He was orphaned as a little boy and has since been brought up by a couple belonging to the lower caste. A trip to the 'agraharam' brings back memories of his childhood and he realises that he is in fact a Brahmin and the son of the head priest at the temple. Wishing to help his real family while at the same time unable to forget the parents who adopted him, he shuffles between the two vastly different worlds. Maheswar, a lower caste woman, waits for him back home while Gayatri falls in love with him in his new life.
Casteism and racism are not stories from remote past. In Indian society, these evils take a peculiar shape at the intersection of 'class'. "Kathrika" features the happenings inside a beauty salon, giving sneak peak to the ugly side of discrimination in our times.
Set in 19th Century Japan a young samurai who finds himself in love with a farm girl leaves his home to begin a new life. He has to take stock of his new life when he is put to the test and ordered to kill a traitor who just happens to be his dearest friend.
Narayanappa, a Madhwa Brahmin man, dies in the Agrahara of the village Durvasapura. As per Madhwa customs, his last rites must be performed at the earliest. However, due to Narayanappa's rebellious actions in life, which included eating meat, consuming liquor and marrying a prostitute, there is disagreement amongst the Brahmins of the village as to who will perform his rites.
On planet Amoi, a great society has developed, creating a computerized city called Tanagura, ruled by supercomputer Jupiter. The populace is almost entirely male and is based on hair color; anyone silver/blond are the elite, with dark/black hair as the bottom of society, often known as "mongrels". Blonds have "pets", which are usually young boys kept for a few years, who are especially made for performing sexual actions for the Blond's voyeurism entertainment. The pets are not supposed to be kept for long, nor are Blonds allowed to interact sexually with them; but one Blond, named Iason Mink, has kept a pet for years. Mink is also rumored to sleep with his pet named Riki and refuses to let go of him; despite Jupiter's disapproval. Riki fights with his emotions and society problems, unable to decide what to do about his old friend/lover Gai (Guy) and their gang. Iason is obsessed with keeping Riki, and Riki doesn't know what to do; fight against him or surrender to him.
Vaidehi belongs to an orthodox Brahmin family and falls in love with Sankarapandi who is from a different caste. Their love is disapproved by her father but is accepted by Sankarapandi's family.
A court-marshalled soldier with a traumatic past helps a young girl from 'lower' caste and an aspiring boxer work towards her dreams despite her hostile environment.
A fourteen year old boy in rural India is killed for writing a love letter.
Four lives intersect along the Ganges: a low caste boy in hopeless love, a daughter ridden with guilt of a sexual encounter ending in a tragedy, a hapless father with fading morality, and a spirited child yearning for a family, long to escape the moral constructs of a small-town.
Two people from different caste start to fall in love but as their parents oppose them; they run away.
Santya is an aggressive young chap, who is a matter of worry and fear for his family. When an Adivasi woman from Santya's neighborhood is raped and murdered by an upper caste man, Santya must make the journey towards becoming an Ambedkarite, in order to emancipate himself and help his community get justice and prosper.
Weighed down by familial expectations and personal despair, Sonu battles inner struggles while trying to find meaning in his fractured life.
In a small Indian village, a destitute woman's barren, alcoholic husband absconds after stealing toddy. Alone to fend for herself, she ends up relying on the affections of her landlord's to-be-married son who recently returned to look after the estate.
Based on the game of Chess that delves into the conflicts and confrontations of people between the rich and poor class and high and low strata of society. How does an ordinary boy, from the community of sanitation workers, become a grandmaster?
While investigating the global phenomenon of caste and its dark influence on society, a journalist faces unfathomable personal loss and uncovers the beauty of human resilience.