Batti Gul Meter Chalu 2018

In Tehri, Uttarakhand, three childhood friends—Sushil Kumar “S.K.” Pant, Lalita “Nauti” Nautiyal, and Sundar Mohan Tripathi—grow up with big dreams and bigger flaws. S.K. is an unscrupulous lawyer who makes money from out-of-court settlements, while Nauti is an over-the-top fashion designer who carries herself with bold confidence. When she decides to pursue marriage by dating both friends for a week each, the arrangement creates an undercurrent of rivalry and friction that soon surfaces in painful ways.

Things take a sharp turn when S.K. catches Nauti and Tripathi kissing. Heartbroken, he taunts them and withdraws, leaving his two friends to face the fallout. Meanwhile, Tripathi’s small-town printing press becomes the target of inflated electricity bills, starting at ₹150,000 (US$1,800) and escalating to ₹5.4 million (US$64,000) in the following months. Desperate for relief, he and Nauti visit S.K. for help, but S.K. responds with insults, offering no support. With nowhere else to turn, Tripathi makes a devastating choice and attempts suicide, an act that shocks everyone involved.

S.K. is stunned by the tragedy, and a part of him shifts from detachment to responsibility. He resolves to take on SPTL, the privatized electricity company behind the inflated bills, becoming an unlikely advocate for the people against a corporation that seemed untouchable. Gulnaar Rizvi [Yami Gautam], the company’s lawyer, is positioned against him in court, setting the stage for a high-stakes legal battle.

As the case reaches its climax, Tripathi resurfaces in court to reveal the truth about his suicide attempt and the ongoing struggle with the bills. The court ultimately sides with Tripathi, cancels SPTL’s license, and orders SPTL to compensate Tripathi with ₹1 million (US$12,000) and others with ₹40,000 (US$470) for similar complaints. The proceedings also lead to a six-month simple imprisonment for Tripathi for orchestrating a fake death to dupe an insurance company. In the aftermath, Gulnaar and S.K. are shown to be dating, suggesting a personal reconciliation alongside the legal resolution.