Antardwand 2010

Raghuveer Sahi is an aspiring IAS officer who spends four years in New Delhi preparing for his exam and living with his girlfriend Sia. The film opens with Sia revealing her pregnancy and urging Raghuveer to tell his father, Madhukar Sahi, about their relationship so they can consider marriage. This plea sets a tense tone as Raghuveer weighs family duty against his commitment to Sia.

Raghuveer travels to his hometown in Bihar, where his parents live, and encounters a proposed arrangement orchestrated by Mahendra Babu. Mahendra arrives with his daughter Janki and a marriage proposal, even offering dowry to secure the match. Madhukar listens calmly, but he rejects the idea of an arranged marriage that would bind Raghuveer to someone else. The conversation forces Raghuveer to confront a painful truth: his father’s disapproval of Sia’s pregnancy shadows any potential union. Raghuveer confesses to his mother about Sia, hoping for a strategy to secure their future, but his mother urges him to be forthright with his father. When Raghuveer finally reveals the pregnancy to his father, Madhukar reacts with anger, yet he does not reveal the pregnancy to Raghuveer’s mother or reveal his own stance on the situation. That night, Raghuveer packs his belongings and tells his mother that Sia is pregnant, signaling the looming break with his family’s expectations.

At dawn Raghuveer heads back to Delhi to check his IAS results, but fate twists his path. A van suddenly pulls up alongside him, and masked men abduct him. He fights to break free, but they knock him unconscious. When he regains consciousness, he finds himself trapped in a hut, fed intermittently and kept under guard. After a failed attempt to bargain for his freedom, he escapes only to be recaptured by Mahendra’s men. The motive becomes clear: Mahendra has abducted Raghuveer to force a marriage between Raghuveer and his daughter, Janki. Raghuveer’s anger erupts as he protests the coercion, but the captors overpower him to secure a consent he does not want to give.

Back in Delhi, Sia remains anxious about Raghuveer’s absence and his exam results. Madhukar learns that Raghuveer has gone missing and files a police report. Meanwhile, in Bihar, the wedding is quietly set in motion—an arranged union that will connect Raghuveer to Janki. Janki is a lively, carefree college student who is initially unaware of her father’s machinations, and her sister-in-law (the family elder) convinces her that the marriage will eventually be fine. The wedding preparations move forward, and Raghuveer, dressed as the groom, becomes the target of a coercive plan to bind him to Janki.

The night of the wedding arrives with a disturbing sequence. Raghuveer is forcibly made to drink alcohol so the ceremony can proceed while he is unconscious. In the room, Janki sits by Raghuveer’s side, watching him as he sleeps, a subtle but uneasy moment that foreshadows the troubling events to come. When Raghuveer wakes, he realizes he has been married against his will. He throws milk on the floor in anger, and Janki appears distressed but determined to navigate the situation. A conversation ensues in which Raghuveer tries to explain his truth—that he loves Sia and that Sia is pregnant—while Janki admits she did not know the full scope of the plan. A police officer arrives with news that Raghuveer’s father has filed a missing-person report, underscoring how far the family has drifted from the original expectations.

Despite the troubling start, Janki gradually grows attached to Raghuveer. Her sister-in-law urges reconciliation, even as the couple traverses a fragile path toward mutual understanding. The couple forms a bond as they spend time together, including moments at a temple where Raghuveer confirms the name of his partner: Sia. The revelation unsettles Janki but also marks the beginning of a complicated, evolving relationship where both are forced to confront their own desires, loyalties, and the reality of their circumstances.

As days pass, Mahendra and his men intensify pressure on Raghuveer, and a harrowing episode unfolds when Raghuveer, in a drunken state, has sex with Janki. The morning after leaves visible marks, and Raghuveer is tormented by guilt and remorse. He apologizes to Janki, who responds with a quiet but hopeful acceptance—she tells him that he is her husband and that she does not require apologies from him. The situation catalyzes a new dynamic: Janki begins to fall in love with Raghuveer, even as Raghuveer struggles to move past his connection to Sia.

Raghuveer eventually travels back to Delhi to see Sia, only to learn that she plans to marry someone else because Raghuveer’s absence has left her uncertain about their future. She tells him there is no point in pursuing a relationship now, given that Raghuveer has become married in the eyes of the world. Raghuveer then shares his full story with his father, and Madhukar encourages him to remain in Delhi to continue his IAS studies.

Back in Bihar, Janki discovers she is pregnant. Her father reacts with anger and pushes the idea that she must abort the child and consider a second marriage to salvage the situation. He insists this is for her own good, using the pressure to control the narrative. The family’s harsh stance devastates Janki, who resolves to fight for a future on her own terms. She packs her bags and, with a heavy heart, leaves home, supported by her sister-in-law and others who recognize the injustice of her father’s plan.

In the end, Janki heads away on a cycle rickshaw, carrying her belongings and moving toward a hopeful future with Raghuveer’s child. The film closes on a note of resilience, showing how two deeply imperfect families collide, how love and responsibility collide with tradition, and how a young couple’s decision to stand together reshapes their lives amid pressure from all sides.