Priyadarshan

Forbidden Love is an anthology of four stories that deal with human emotions and explore the immoral factors of relationships like jealousy, infidelity, suspicion and secrets.

When a ruthless politician takes an ill-informed decision, the dreams of ordinary people get crushed.

With effortless candor and courage, the 5 ladies of Whats the T display their day to day lives. They exhibit the hard work one must possess in order to achieve success as defined by them. All these women have gone through similar experiences and all have risen above these trials to gain what is rightfully theirs in their own fields. While the battle is a long and arduous one, these women have proven and are still proving that they will end up on top. The documentary features Cassandra Cass who is a performer at the Starlight Room in San Francisco, Rakash Armani an up and coming star in the ballroom scene, Nya an ingénue from AsiaSF, Vi Le is a biology and psychology major in SFSU working towards her medical degree, and Mia TuMutch who is a youth advocate for the San Francisco Youth Commission.

After completing his studies in London, Shakti Thakur returns to his ancestral village in India, accompanied by his girlfriend, Anita, whom he is in love with and wants to marry, much to the disapproval of his family. Shakti harbors ambitions of opening a chain of fast-food restaurants, a vision that contrasts sharply with his family's traditional values and expectations. Back in the village, Shakti quickly becomes disillusioned by the stagnant atmosphere and the deep-rooted animosity that still plagues the townspeople. He informs his father, the zamindar Raja Thakur, that he intends to sell his share of the family's property to fund his business venture. Raja Thakur, who raised Shakti as a single parent after his mother died when Shakti was just a year old, pleads with his son to stay in the village and use his education for the betterment of the community. He emphasizes that "a man gets an education not to become a selfish being but to uplift his uneducated brothers and society." However, Shakti, frustrated by the ongoing feud between his father and his uncle, Zamindar Birju, and the behavior of his older brother, a perpetual drunk and an embarrassment to the family, decides to leave. The village is deeply affected by the longstanding feud between Raja Thakur and his younger brother Birju, a disabled man whose son, Bali Thakur, holds a deep grudge against Raja Thakur. This rivalry, fueled by Bali Thakur's desire to one-up his uncle, keeps the village divided and stifles its progress. While spending time in the village, Shakti engages in a game of sticks (a traditional Indian sport) with Bali Thakur's men, which he wins, further aggravating the tension between the two factions. During a visit to an old temple that had been closed off due to a longstanding dispute between Raja Thakur and Birju Thakur over who had rights to it, Shakti insists on entering, and his friend and servant Sukhiya breaks open the lock. Bali Thakur hears of this and incites a brutal riot between the two village factions. Raja Thakur, desperate to prevent further bloodshed, considers apologizing, but Shakti insists that he or Sukhiya should apologize instead. However, when Shakti looks for Sukhiya, he learns that Bali Thakur's men have cut off Sukhiya's hand as punishment for opening the temple, leading Raja Thakur's men to retaliate by burning down the homes of Bali Thakur's supporters. Frustrated by the lack of justice after Sukhiya's arm is cut off, Shakti confronts the head police officer about why they are not taking action. The officer explains that the villagers refuse to come forward as witnesses to such violent acts, making it difficult for the police to intervene. Despite this setback, the police officer becomes supportive of Shakti. To prevent the situation from escalating further, Shakti enlists the help of a government official friend to legally open the temple for all, with his father's reluctant approval. Offended by this move, Bali Thakur retaliates by hiring goons to destroy a dam that protects Raja Thakur's side of the village. A female villager notices the goons near the dam but does not think much of it at the time. The dam is subsequently destroyed with explosives, leading to a devastating flood that kills many villagers, including infants, leaving Shakti deeply grieved The same female villager, whose son died in the flood, angrily recognizes one of the goons in the village. She confronts him, leading Shakti to capture the goon and hand him over to the police. However, the goon, out of fear for his family's safety, refuses to implicate Bali Thakur in the crime. Later, Bali Thakur intimidates Narayan, a villager living in Raja Thakur's area, into closing off a portion of his land, making it difficult for the public to reach the main road. This action was done at the suggestion of Bali's lawyer, further complicating the ongoing conflict. In a village panchayat called to resolve the issue, accusations fly from both sides. Without any evidence, Bali Thakur accuses Raja Thakur of orchestrating attacks on his brother's family and insults him relentlessly. Disrespected and heartbroken, Raja Thakur returns home and dies from a heart attack that night. During the funeral, Birju Thakur grieves the death of his brother, while Bali Thakur reacts with cold indifference and annoyance. Shakti, now burdened with the role of the village head, reluctantly takes on his father's duties. After becoming the village head, Shakti makes his older brother swear to stop drinking, and his brother agrees. However, Bali Thakur's men, under the influence of Bali's lawyer, try to get Shakti's brother drunk again to manipulate him into signing away the village's property deed, but Shakti intervenes just in time to prevent the betrayal. As time passes, the villagers express concerns about the land that has been closed off, leading to longer travel times. Shakti successfully convinces Narayan to open the land by arranging a marriage between Narayan's daughter, Gehna, and a well-to-do man from the village and the police agree to provide protection to stop Bali men interfering. However, on the wedding day, the groom flees in fear of Bali Thakur. Distraught and feeling dishonored, Narayan believes his daughter will be stigmatized and live in constant fear. Shakti steps in and marries Gehna himself, despite still having feelings for Anita. Although their marriage begins awkwardly, Shakti and Gehna gradually move on. When Anita returns and learns the truth, she is left heartbroken. Although saddened by the turn of events, she understands the situation and leaves. Shakti, too, closes the chapter about his girlfriend and starts his new life with his wife Bali Thakur, enraged by the series of events-including the opening of the land, Shakti stopping him from tricking his older brother into signing over the family land, and the village panchayat's decision to honor Shakti's family with the right to host the village festival for reopening the temple-plots a final act of vengeance. Despite Shakti's kind offer to let Bali oversee the festival, Bali refuses, threatening to cut off Shakti's head, further escalating tensions. Bali then devises a plan to plant a bomb at the festival, determined to exact revenge. Bali's parents, Birju and his mother, become aware of his plot and, horrified, try to stop him. They attempt to call the police, but Bali, in his blind rage, imprisons them. Birju pleads with his son to end the violence, but his pleas fall on deaf ears. Bali's mother manages to escape and runs to the festival to warn Shakti of the bomb, but she arrives too late, and the bomb explodes, resulting in multiple deaths. In the aftermath of the explosion, a furious Shakti searches for Bali at his home. He finds a devastated and remorseful Birju, who does not know where Bali is hiding but Birju does not know, Shakti decides to help Birju and his innocent family by bringing them to his home, however both factions of the village, wanting revenge, go after Bali Thakur and his family. Shakti protects the innocent family and convinces the villagers to leave. Appreciative of Shakti's efforts to protect them, Birju Thakur finally ends his enmity towards him. Meanwhile, the police launch a manhunt for Bali in connection with the bombing. The next day, Shakti notices Bali's mother walking into the chicken coop area on his property and realizes that Bali is hiding there. Shakti follows her and confronts Bali, who is hiding inside. Bali's mother begs him to flee and escape the consequences of his actions, but Bali, consumed by his hatred for Shakti, refuses. When his mother tries to stop him from attacking Shakti, Bali spits in her face and kicks her in the stomach. Enraged by this, Shakti attacks and overpowers Bali, but ultimately spares his life, urging him to surrender to the police. However, Bali refuses to give up his vendetta and tries to attack Shakti again. He flees to an area filled with statues and idols, where the two engage in a final, intense battle with weapons. In the struggle, Shakti decapitates Bali with an axe, an act that leaves him devastated as he realizes that Bali has forced him to unleash his dark side. Although other villagers are willing to take the blame for Bali Thakur's murder, Shakti gives himself up to the police to end the cycle of violence once and for all. The film depicts the true meaning of education as "a tool to uplift uneducated people".