In August 1947, the British passed a bill regarding the partition of Bengal. Delving into the grim history of the Partition, Mukherjee's movie Rajkahini is woven around a border between the two nations that runs through a brothel housing 11 women.
The story revolves around a hotel named "Shah Jahan Regency" and lives of people associated with that hotel. The hotel is one of a kind and very different from others as it strongly believes in the rich culture of India and tries to imply and maintain that in every aspect of the hotel - starting from the decor, to uniforms of the staff members, to the names given to various parts of the hotel.
Three stories show the changing face of morality, the degeneration of values, the increasing pollution of the spoken language, and the changing social fabric of Bengal.
An old film exhibitor struggles to keep his cinema from being demolished. Meanwhile, his relationship with his immoral son deteriorates.
A story about the aristocratic Basak family and their mansion in northern Kolkata.
Sraboni / Shaon (Isha Saha) and Antor Sen (Aditya Sengupta) have been married for a two years and 5 months, and live in a joint family with Antor's parents, brother, sister-in-law and niece. Unbeknownst to her draconian, Rabindrasangeet-loving, idealist mother-in-law, Shaon has a career writing scripts for Bengali soaps (watching which too are strictly forbidden in the household). In contrast to the fiercely independent Shaon, Antor is usually indecisive and equivocates every time he is asked for his opinion on any matter. Shaon and Antor are unable to conceive because Shaon suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome - something which causes her a lot of mental anguish.
Natobar, like any other typical Bengali lad, wants to be a poet. He is unsuccessful in all his attempts while dabbling with poetry. Rabindranath Tagore visits him in his sleep and gives him a boon - he is endowed with Tagore's poetic prowess but for a limited period.
When your life is sinking he comes to you as your Saviour but in turn leaves you destructed. Who is this man in shadows and what exactly does he want from the protagonists forms the story of the film.
