Saudagar 1973

Moti, Amitabh Bachchan, is a famous gur trader in Sultanganj, dealing in seasonal gur made from Khajur. During the off-season, he meets Phoolbanu, Padma Khanna, and falls in love. Phoolbanu’s father, Banerjee, C.S. Dubey, asks for mehar (bride price), which Moti cannot pay.

Majubee, a widow who is Moti’s business associate, prepares the gur for him to sell. Her gur is renowned and people always prefer to buy from Moti. To avoid paying the mehar, Moti schemes to marry Majubee, a plan that Majubee, unaware of his ulterior motive, initially finds surprising but eventually accepts. At the end of the season, Moti saves enough to cover the mehar and divorces Majubee on the pretext that she has an illicit relationship with her much-respected brother-in-law. Majubee, shocked, curses Moti as she leaves.

This incident shakes Majubee and the wider community. Moti then meets Phoolbanu’s father again and asks for his daughter’s hand once more. Satisfied with the mehar, he marries Phoolbanu. Yet Moti continues to leverage his earnings from Majubee and even incurs more debt after marrying Phoolbanu in pursuit of a luxurious lifestyle.

Meanwhile, a fish trader named Nadeer asks Majubee to marry him. He is honest about his situation—he has small children and needs someone to look after them—and treats Majubee with courtesy. She ultimately leaves for another village, seeking a steadier life.

As the gur season returns, Phoolbanu proves terrible at making gur, and Moti’s customers begin to desert him. The year ends with little profit, and in a moment of crisis, Phoolbanu, while fetching water, leaves the gur and a batch is burnt. Moti beats Phoolbanu with a stick, and only soon after, his father-in-law arrives to reconcile, and they resume living together.

Gradually, a stark self-realization dawns on Moti. He arrives home one day with no gur sap and admits to Phoolbanu that he has abandoned his work. Realizing Moti’s pain and remorse, Phoolbanu leaves for her father’s home. On the road, she glimpses Moti carrying two cans of date-nectar and understands that he is headed to Majubee’s house, seeking help. In a quiet, poignant moment, Moti finally asks Majubee to make gur for him again. Majubee, initially angry at the sight of him, recognizes his fragile state and softens. Phoolbanu, watching from a distance, witnesses the exchange and, as the eyes of the two women meet, they melt into tears and share a heartfelt hug, signaling a complex, unresolved end built on forgiveness, regret, and the enduring ties of community.