Mr and Mrs Iyer - 2002

Story

Meenakshi Iyer (Konkona Sen Sharma), with her infant son, Santhanam, embarks on a bus journey to return to her husband, from her parents’ place. At the bus station, Meenakshi and Raja Chowdhury (Rahul Bose) get introduced to each other through a common friend. Raja, a wildlife photographer, is requested by Meenakshi’s parents to look after their daughter and baby grandson during the journey.

The passengers of the bus include a boisterous group of youngsters, two Sikh men, an elderly Muslim couple, a young couple high on romance, a mentally challenged boy and his mother, and some card-playing men. The bus faces a roadblock and the bus driver attempts a detour, but is stopped by traffic jam caused by sectarian violence between Hindus and Muslims in nearby areas.

Raja reveals his Muslim identity to Meenakshi. As someone who comes from a high caste and conservative Hindu Brahmin family, Meenakshi shudders at the very fact that during their travel she drank water offered by Raja, a Muslim. "Please. Don’t touch me" is her shocked reply. Raja contemplates leaving the bus, but is forced to get inside the bus by the patrolling police who informs that a curfew has been declared due to the riot. After the police leaves to scout other areas, a rioting Hindu mob arrives and forcibly enters the bus. They begin interrogating passengers about their religious identities and when in doubt, they even resort to check if the person is circumcised.

Meenakshi Iyer trying to shield Raja’s Muslim identity by introducing Raja and her as Mr. and Mrs. Iyer to the rioters.
In order to protect himself from them, one of the passengers?Jewish and hence circumcised?points out the old Muslim couple to divert the mob’s attention. The mob’s leader drags the old couple out of the bus. One teenager resists this, but she is thrashed by the leader. As Raja attempts to rise in revolt, Meenakshi plants Santhanam on his lap, ordering him to hold the baby with an intent to shield Raja’s Muslim identity. The mob asks about their identities, and Meenaksi tells the leader that Raja and she are Mr. and Mrs. Iyer. After this chilly encounter, the passengers spend the night in the bus.

In the morning, the passengers trek to a nearby village to seek accommodation. Raja and Meenakshi, identifying themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, fail to find any accommodation. However, the police officer, who was patrolling the earlier evening, bails them out by providing shelter at an abandoned forest bungalow. They are provided with the single usable bedroom available in the bungalow. Meenakshi refuses to share the room with Raja, and curses herself for coming along with a stranger. Raja confronts her on her outdated prejudices about caste and religion. After a brief quarrel, Raja allows her the comfort of the bedroom and prefers to sleep outside. The next morning when Meenakshi does not find Raja, she gets worried and angry as to why he left Santhanam and her in such a place. Soon, she feels relieved to find Raja sleeping outside. After they reach a restaurant in the nearby village, they meet the teenagers on the bus. The teenage girls are excited and curious to know about Meenaakshi and Raja’s love story. To keep their farce alive, both of them cook up an impromptu story right from how they met till where they went for their honeymoon. During their stay at the bungalow, they discover each other’s beliefs and understanding of religion. That night, as they witness a horrific murder by one of the mobs, a shocked Meenakshi is comforted by Raja.

The next day, they reach a railway station with the army’s help. There, they board the train towards their destination. An unspoken love and a strong attraction is evident between them, keeping behind all their differences. At their destination station, Kolkata, the real Mr. Iyer (Meenakshi’s husband) arrives to receive his wife. Meenakshi introduces Raja to her husband as Jehangir Chowdhury, a Muslim man who helped her (a Hindu woman) during the curfew. Raja hands over a camera roll to Meenakshi, containing the photos of their journey; they bid an emotional farewell to each other.