Story
What happens when a mislead youth does a stupid crime just to prove his point? What are the repercussions on the general public and people connected to him? How does our Government tackle this issue and what does it do to prevent its reoccurrence?
332 is not an answer to the above issues but at least it puts ones mind into thinking...and that is what happens in the film too.
332 is about the North Indian v/s Mumbaikars issue which happened in Mumbai. Several guys were beaten on Kalyan railway station and it led to various incidents all over Mumbai. Rickshaws and taxis were broken down and all Mumbaikars wanting the UPites to be driven out of Mumbai. This forms just a backdrop of our story.
332 is set in various parts of our country. Mumbai, Bihar, Benaras. Mumbai, a city which is a cultural mix of every nationality. The story begins when a young guy Rahul Raj hijacks a Bus No.332 plied between Andheri & Kurla. From that point, we are taken into seeing the lives of several characters, and the problems each encounters during that day. A young writer Mahesh who, though an UPite, born and brought up in Mumbai doesn't consider himself an outsider in Mumbai. He considers himself a true Indian and doesn't want himself to be associated with this war of communities.
An auto rickshaw driver Ismail who belongs to neither of the community is very poor but poses to be a happy man who believes in living the way life leads to. His philosophy is to keep oneself always ready for anything.
A couple Devesh and Pallavi, who are in love and, today Devesh is going to ask for her hand from her father, are an eye witness to the entire hijack of the bus, because they were traveling in the same bus.
Sanju, Santosh, Govind studying in Benaras Hindu Vishwavidalaya are thickest of the friends, in spite of Sanju being a Maharashtrian and rest hailing from Bihar. But what happens when they see the news of the bus hijacked by Rahul Raj?
In Bihar a 50 year old man of wisdom Thakur baba is scared as his son has gone to Mumbai but while this whole incident is taking place his son is not to be contacted. He fears the worst.
When the cops shoot Rahul Raj down and its effect on the above characters makes us think that is this war of communities really worth?
Devesh and Pallavi's love story starts to develop a crack and they split up. Ismail's rickshaw, his only source of livelihood, is being broken down in front of his eyes. This makes his life hell as he is unable to pay for his son's education and repay the loan taken for his autorickshaw. Thakur baba finally gets to speak to his son, who is unknown to this whole hijack issue. Thakur baba is relieved as his son is alive but also sad that if its not his son then somebody else's son is shot.
Govind starts seeing Sanju as an outsider amongst them and he even threatens to kill him. The situation arises where he is crippled and in the age his father was supposed to retire, Sanju gets retired. What about his future?
Mahesh's thinking totally changes and he starts to live in fear and thinks himself to be an outsider in Mumbai, a minority community. Many of the characters switch their ideologies and it may surprise us the way they change.
Exactly a month after this incident a big incident happened in Mumbai which took the entire world by surprise. . . Terrorist attack on Taj hotel i.e. the infamous terrorist attack of 26/11. Though the terrorist were either shot or one of them captured, entire Mumbai were mourning of hundreds of lives lost. This started a movement against terrorism and the entire Mumbai and mumbaikars arranged a candle march to Taj.
During this candle march all our major characters take part and in this they understand that it's not about their birthplace or difference of language but its for our country. . . India. How they all get together as a single unit under our Tricolor really sets us into thinking that when our National Language is one then why we fight just because our Mother tongue is different.
It peeps into the lives of rich and poor, dangerous and foolish, corruption and morality and ends up showcasing, that in the end Mumbai has heart which despite facing several pains, still manages to beat.