Synopsis
India is defined by politics, religion, mass icon worship and a real (or, warped perhaps) sense of what its people stand for.
The three protagonists (Ishaan, Omi & Govind) see their coming of age through a catastrophic (and cathartic) epic journey, entwined through innocence, love, friendship, ambition, and ultimate redemption.
Govind, the doer, is an entrepreneur from a modest background with aspirations for big business. Ishaan, the madcap dreamer, is an erstwhile local cricketing talent, wasting his days with Omi, loyal friend, fan and follower. Omi will do anything but follow his father, the local temple priest, into a religious life.
Govind proposes a unique business plan -a sports shop and a cricket coaching service that will bring together their best , Govind’s business acumen, Ishaan’s cricketing expertise and Omi’s family connection – an uncle with political clout who helps them start their venture. But interests are conflicted as the friends chase individual ambitions instead of a collective dream. Ishaan identifies Ali, a child cricketing prodigy from the nearby Muslim neighbourhood and decides to train him. Ishaan’s younger sister Vidya and Govind start having a secret affair. Omi feels he’s lost Ishaan to Ali and joins forces with his Right wing Uncle.
On February 2002, a train carrying karsevaks ( Hindu pilgrims and activists) are burnt by a mob, a violent communal riot erupts in Ahmedabad. The friends are caught in the crossfire of history– the city bleeds and burns – but will the dying embers of yesterday’s fire give rise to the phoenix of the future?
The Film is based on Chetan Bhagat’s “Three Mistakes of my Life”, a novel that gives a perspective through the lives and times of ordinary people with an extraordinary legacy of history.