In
McCluskieganj, Bihar (now in
Jharkhand) an old
Anglo-Indian town in 1979, two men, Nandu and Brian, stare at a dead body inside the trunk of their car. They discuss what to do with it. They then drive away with a third person, Shutu, sitting in the backseat of the car from the front of a morgue. The film then flashes back to one week earlier. Nandu, his wife, Bonnie, their daughter, Tani, Bonnie's friend, Mimi, and his cousin, Shyamal "Shutu," arrive at Nandu's parents' house in McCluskieganj from
Calcutta. Later, Nandu's friends, Vikram and Brian, arrive with the former being recently engaged. Shutu, the main character of the film, is shown to be extremely sensitive and gentle, which often makes him the target of the jokes and pranks played by his family and friends. Despite having been a topper in his school, he just failed his exams and misses his recently passed father greatly. His closest companion in the family is Tani, and Nandu's mother is the only other person who seems to care for him. As the week goes by, Shutu begins to feel more and more alienated. He is injured in a game of
Kabaddi by the aggressive and hot-headed Vikram. He also becomes attracted to Mimi, and the two sleep together. Shutu begins to like Mimi, but she isn't interested in him for anything besides sex, as she is attracted to Vikram. Shutu takes Mimi for a ride on the motorcycle, and when they come back, they discover that Tani has run away after Shutu chose to spend time with Mimi over her. Shutu is visibly upset by Tani's disappearance and feels guilty. He and Nandu go to search for her, but Shutu accidentally falls into a deep ditch, and Nandu leaves without him. Nandu arrives home and sees that Vikram has found Tani safe and sound. The whole family is relieved, and for a long time, no one notices that Shutu is missing. The servant eventually finds him, but Shutu is upset that no one was worried about him and did not bother looking for him. Tani also refuses to talk to him, which upsets him further. The following day, Shutu buys a train ticket for home. He tells Mimi that he will be back in Calcutta soon and will surely meet her. She brushes him off and rudely tells him that he should concentrate on his studies. Shutu goes outside, where he sees everyone happy in each other's company. O.P., Nandu's father, shows him the proper way to shoot a rifle with his very old and rustic rifle while Shutu watches Mimi flirt with Vikram and everyone else looking happy and content. Feeling invisible, unwanted, and unloved, after a week of quiet unraveling, Shutu forcefully takes the rifle from O.P. and points it at O.P. and at others. Shocked, everyone tries to plead with him to return the rifle and refrain him from pulling the trigger. After a few moments, he turns the rifle and points it under his chin and shoots himself dead. The movie ends with the opening scene in which Nandu and Brian drive away with Shutu's dead body in the trunk with the ghost of Shutu in the backseat. The closing credits show the road behind the moving car from this ghost's perspective. == Cast ==