 Dharavi - known as the biggest slums on Earth, has many people living in abject poverty and destitute conditions. One such person is Rajkaran (Om Puri) a taxi driver by profession, who has bought a taxi and is still for it in small instalments. He, his wife, Kumud (Shabana Azmi), and his son live in small tenement. Electricity and water are not available legally, but can be obtained illegally by paying middlemen, who in turn bribe the police and the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials. Rajkaran s dream is to own his taxi, and start his own business - of dyeing clothes. His dream comes to light, when he, alongwith three others, acquire the necessary land and building for it. Once started, things start looking up for Rajkaran, and he even has his mom, Amma (Anjana) come over to live with them. Then things take a turn for the worse - the building is deemed illegal by the BMC and is demolished; Rajkaran and his associates are unable to protect nor save their investment; Unable to pay for his taxi, his vehicle is taken away; His associates refuse to co-operate with him nor even speak with him; His mother finds out that his wife is having an affair with her ex-husband, Shankar (Mushtaq Khan); In desperation, Rajkaran takes up another job as a taxi-driver and robs a passenger, and ends up in jail; His brother-in-law is killed by rivals; His mother, unable to see her son s suffering and misery decides to go back to her home-town; and Kumud leaves him to go back to her ex-husband. Rajkaran comes out of jail, thanks to a corrupt system and false witnesses, and is back on square one again - homeless and penniless - he must now decide what is best for him and the rest of his life.