[3] It stars Rajit Kapur, Rajeshwari Sachdev, Pallavi Joshi, Neena Gupta and Amrish Puri, among others.

The storyteller Manek Mulla (played by Rajit Kapur) tells his friends three stories of three women he had known at different points of time in his life: Rajeshwari Sachdev (a metaphor for the middle class), Pallavi Joshi (the intellectual and affluent), and Neena Gupta (the poor).

[4] The three stories are revealed to be three different strands of a single tale as seen from the points of view of the different lead characters in the film.

The narrative style adds to the abstractness; the film is presented as a flashback of a contemporary artist, Shyam (played by Raghuvir Yadav).

He remembers the many stories narrated by Mulla, a born raconteur during their gossip sessions with two of their mutual friends.