Calcutta. An old building occupied by eleven families and Dipu, a young man with intellectual ambitions. Aiming at freeing himself from his condition of pariah, he applies for a job as journalist. The director likes him and asks him to write an article about the working-class community he belongs to. Dipu starts looking at the community around him with different eyes, but he cannot find a story worth an article. The day after, the director of the newspaper spurs him on writing about the problem of pollution, in particular the use of coal for cooking. Dipu, even though confused, accepts. With the money he earns, he buys a gas kitchen stove for his mother. Sen, specialized in the description of social environments, is considered one of the greatest directors of Bollywood.