Zakhm 1998

Music director Ajay Devgn argues with his wife, Sonali Bendre. Sonia wants to give birth to their child in England, while Ajay insists the birth should happen in India, citing the insecurity stirred by the Mumbai riots.

Ajay soon learns that his mother, Pooja Bhatt, has been badly burned by a mob of rioters while leaving a temple and is in a critical condition. A flashback then unfolds, revealing the private struggles she endured to raise her children. She was in love with Hindu film producer turned director Raman Desai, but their marriage was not allowed to be formalized due to her Muslim faith. Although Raman Desai eventually married her, the union was not documented or publicly acknowledged, and she lived her life as a Hindu, even in front of her son.

After his father’s sudden death in an accident on the day Ajay’s younger brother is born, Ajay realizes that his mother was Muslim. She makes him promise to bury her according to Islamic customs when she dies, believing that only through a proper burial can she find herself reunited with Raman in heaven. She also asks Ajay to keep her true identity a secret from his brother.

Sonia learns about her mother-in-law’s past and decides not to leave Ajay. She stands by him and supports his decision to bury his mother, even as religious tensions rise. Yet Ajay’s task is complicated by a fundamentalist leader, Ashutosh Rana as Subodh bhai, who seeks to weaponize the issue and incite Hindu youth to kill Muslims.

Anand, a youth leader and Ajay’s younger brother, learns of Subodh bhai’s intentions and backs his brother’s plan to bury their mother according to Islamic customs. In accordance with her wishes, her body is laid to rest as she desired, and she reunites with Raman in heaven. In a final, poignant moment, Ajay releases his mother’s Mangalsutra into the sea, signaling the end of a life marked by struggle and a hopeful union with her husband beyond this world.