SKBM Story So Far

We start with a voiceover. Pooja is sitting on the roof of her house in Bhopal, writing in her diary. She's talking to a man named Krish about his decision to break their relationship. She cries as she writes that she'll always be connected to him in some way. Suddenly the bell rings and she goes down to open the door.

Outside, two suspicious looking men have come to visit her because she's apparently not going anywhere these days. She invites them in for tea. As she turns away, she notices them holding guns and quickly tries to bar the door. She's not entirely successful so she runs upstairs and locks herself into a music room and frantically dials her sister. 

Arti is busy buying vegetables when she recieves the call and immediately runs to help. But all the roads are blocked because a politician named Brijbhushan Pandey is holding a rally in town. 

The goons finally break through the door and switch on the TV and turn up the volume to mask their sounds and Pooja's cries for help. The report on TV says youth leader Brijbhushan Pandey has been elected state president of his party but several senior members of the party are unhappy with this decision. 

Pooja is now frantically dialling the number of the same Brijbhushan Pandey and we see his phone ringing as he makes his way through crowds of his supporters. He doesn't pick up. She calls again. This time he's sitting down and when he sees her name, he picks it up. He tells her he's busy with the rally and will call her back soon. He disconnects before Pooja can say anything. Pooja crumples to the floor, sobbing that they're going to kill her. 

The goons break through and she tells them she'll leave town but they shoot her multiple times and leave her for dead. Shortly afterwards Arti arrives and she breaks down, apologizing for the fact that she wasn't able to help her in time. Arti gathers her sister's bloody body in her arms and rocks back and forth. Suddenly she hears Pooja say "didi" - she's still alive. 

Pooja is in the hospital with grave injuries, including a couple of bullets the doctors were unable to remove at first try. She's on a ventilator and in critical condition. As she slowly slips away, she remembers happier days. 

Pooja is from a small town called Panchmarhi in Madhya Pradesh and her father is a low level government clerk. They don't have much money but she lives happily with her mother Sumitra, her father Harivansh, and her elder sister Arti who works in a beauty parlor owned by their friend Billu. She's a little spoiled because she's the youngest. 

When her cousin Sudha's wedding is fixed, Harivansh becomes worried because they don't have money to buy gifts. Since Pooja is a talented singer, she decides to enter a singing competition for the prize money despite Harivansh expressly forbidding her to do so. Arti supports her and the two of them sneak away to do it. 

On the way they see an old couple knocked down by the bratty relative of a local bigwig. Suddenly Brijbhushan Pandey, a famous youth leader and rising politician, comes there and beats up the brat and sends the elderly couple to the hospital in his own vehicle. Pooja and Arti are impressed.  

At the singing competition, Pooja suffers from a bad case of stage fright but manages to go on stage with Arti's support. BBP is the chief guest and he is mesmerised by her voice. He encourages her to do more with her talent but she doesn't take him seriously. 

Pooja and Arti are scared to tell their father about Pooja winning the competition but Harivansh surprises them by taking it well and the family is able to buy gifts for their cousin Sudha. At the wedding, however, they're humiliated when their cousins give their gifts to the servant because it is too cheap and low class. Harivansh's brother in law tells them the cost of just their meal is equal to the gifts they brought.  

Arti is furious and drags her family away from there. On their way out, however, they bump into BBP again. He recognizes Pooja instantly and starts congratulating Harivansh and Sumitra on their daughter's talent. He also praises Pooja to Harivansh's brother-in-law and expresses a desire to hear Pooja sing that day. Since BBP is a powerful man who also got their new son-in-law his job, Harivansh's brother-in-law quickly begs Harivansh's pardon and persuades their entire family to stay back to attend the wedding. Arti is disgusted by this behavior but bows to her parents' desire not to create any problems for Sudha and her wedded life.

BBP treats Harivansh with great respect during the wedding. Pooja and Arti are delighted by this. Pooja sings an emotional song as her cousin gets married and BBP is once again mesmerised by her. Meanwhile, the groom's cousin Siddharth is interested in Arti. 

Siddharth and his family turn out to be very greedy and demand a number of things before finalizing the relationship. Harivansh is worried by their demands but since Arti seems to like Siddharth he makes Pooja promise not to inform Arti about their behaviour and resolves to do his best. 

Suddenly, things fall apart for the Tiwari family when Harivansh is accused of taking bribes. He's been framed by Bade Babu, his senior officer, and a politically connected businessman named Khushawa who was frustrated by Harivansh's refusal to take a bribe and pass his dodgy papers. As their entire family and all their friends distance themselves in this hour of need, their only friend is Billu. Even Siddharth's family calls off the wedding.

Harivansh is released on bail but he's a broken human being. Unable to afford lawyer's fees, Pooja and Arti remember BBP's offer to help if ever they're in need. They go to Bhopal to find him since they've misplaced his card. They land up at a rally in search of him but some malcontents start a riot and Pooja and Arti get arrested in the process along with tons of other innocent people. 

BBP sorts out the mess, unknowingly setting them free before they land in jail, and is shocked to see them there. They explain about their father but BBP says he can't help anyone who takes bribes. The sisters explain that their father is innocent and he can check the truth of the matter himself. BBP promises to do whatever he can to help if Harivansh is innocent. 

With the help of the Collector, BBP succeeds in proving Harivansh innocent and Khushawa and Bade Babu as guilty. Harivansh doesn't want them punished so he lets them go. He praises Pooja and Arti to Harivansh, who is very thankful. He asks Harivansh to let Pooja come to Bhopal to sing for a rally. Harivansh agrees. 

At the rally, we see Krish, a career obsessed director, organizing musicians on stage and a girl called Shelley who is angry that Pooja is going to be singing instead of her. Everyone expects Pooja to be some big singer and are shocked to find out that she's actually a young girl from a small town. Krish even tries to get her kicked off stage before realizing who she was. 

Pooja sings Vaishnav Jan and BBP is once again lost in her performance. Everyone applauds her, including Krish. BBP introduces her to the director of an arts academy in Bhopal who invites her to audition for the lead vocal in a show that's going to be staged in Mauritius. BBP strongly urges her to go and she promises to think about it. As the sisters leave, Pooja notices that BBP's torn his sleeve and this is bothering him while he holds a press conference. Without thinking twice, she silently hands him the safety pin holding her dupatta in place and leaves. Brij is struck by her instinctive kindness. 

Siddharth and his family come to ask Arti's hand again but Sumitra is inclined to forgive and forget. But Arti is furious about the way they deserted them in their hour of need and chases them out. Siddharth and his family are angry. Sumitra is worried. 

Pooja is really uninterested in going to Bhopal but Arti thinks this will be a great opportunity for her. The news that Pooja was invited to such a prestigious event soon spreads everywhere and is even printed in the newspaper. As neighbors and passerby begin to congratulate Pooja's family, she's backed into a corner and decides to go to Bhopal after all even though she has strong doubts about her ability to live there by herself without Arti's support.

Meanwhile, Khushawa is actually working for Giridhar, who is BBP's senior in the party and also related to him in some way. Giridhar is angry that BBP interfered in his business and complains to Daddaji, the party head. Daddaji is a sinister figure, very jovial and upright on the outside, a total sociopath on the inside. In his opening scene, he kidnaps a little boy to blackmail his father into passing a tender. 

BBP explains his actions to Daddaji, his mentor and adoptive father, who has other issues on his mind, anyway. There is a panchayat election he wants to win because it has become a matter of prestige for him. BBP wants Daddaji to forget about it because the seat is being contested by the widow of a local leader and the rumor about town is that BBP and his men were responsible for the man's murder even though he was a friend of BBP's. Daddaji is furious to hear this and emotionally blackmails BBP into promising him a favorable result in the election. 

Meanwhile Pooja encounters problems of her own. She is staying with her Mama and his family who look down on her as a low class village person (except for her uncle, a weak man who genuinely feels some affection for his sister and her daughters). Her aunt is especially class-conscious and the only reason she tolerates Pooja is because she managed to get signed on for such a prestigious event. 

But the troupe handling the event is under the direction of Krish who feels Pooja has only been hired because of her connections to BBP and wants his friend Shelley to be the lead. Pooja doesn't fit in with this hip young urban crowd of rich kids and they give her a tough time, making it impossible for her to sing when added to her stage fright and uncertainty.

She is on the brink of going back home when she bumps into BBP who urges her to struggle against her timidity and takes her to a dargah where he spent part of his childhood after running away from home. He introduces her to the Baba who lives there and they are both blessed by him. Pooja feels more confident and peaceful after listening to BBP's inspiring life story and decide to give herself another chance. 

But at the rehearsals Krish is rude to her and makes her part of the chorus. BBP finds out and is angry. He organizes an impromptu singing competition and Pooja wins against Shelley by using Arti's advice to close her eyes and sing whenever she gets frightened. BBP nearly gets Krish fired after that but Pooja convinces him otherwise. 

In the process Pooja becomes friends with another girl - Bhavna, who is also good friends with Krish and from a well connected political family. None of this comes to any good, however, because their academy catches fire and their passports are lost along with all their equipment. 

BBP can help them get back on track but he is focused on winning the election for Daddaji and is thus unreachable so the Mauritius trip looks like it's canceled. A sad Pooja goes to the dargah to cry about it where Baba tells her to keep her dreams aside and leave before it all gets too late for her. 

She's just coming out when she bumps into BBP and is about to tell him about the fire when she notices two men on a bike aiming guns at him. Instinctively, she takes him to the ground and BBP's men take off running after the two men, exchanging fire. BBP is just thanking Pooja when a car draws up and two more men open fire, wounding BBP in the process. BBP and Pooja run into the forest with the men in pursuit.  

Even as BBP's men look for them, the assassins are hunting down BBP and Pooja. BBP wants Pooja to run away because he's weak from blood loss and doesn't think he can make it and the hit men will kill her too if they find her with him. Pooja refuses to leave him at any cost and ties her dupatta around his wound without a second thought. Brij is absolutely won over by her kindness and loyalty. 

Pooja somehow manages to drag BBP to the nearby highway and flags down a truck to take them to a clinic where she stays all night with BBP to make sure he's ok. BBP is even more touched to see this. He finds out about the academy fire and not only gets their passports redone, he offers his party office for their rehearsal hall since they can't find a place to practice. 

Listening to Pooja sing everyday, BBP falls deeply in love with her but at the same time he is trying to win the election. He finds out his friend's widow is a reluctant contestant and her father in law Sangram Singh is forcing her to do all this. Brij comes up with a secret plan. 

At the same time Arti finds out Sudha has been kicked out of her in law's home because Siddharth's mother is her mother in law's cousin and she has been saying things about Arti's behavior. Sudha and her mom ask Arti to reconsider her decision but Arti can only promise to talk to Siddharth about it. 

She meets with Siddharth who says he didn't know his mother was creating problems for her cousin and promises to do something. He also apologizes for his behavior and says his mother is acting out because nobody is willing to marry him since news spread that Arti had refused to marry him. He asks Arti if she truly doesn't want him. He then puts a lot of emotional pressure on her and keeps bumping into her on some pretext or another until she tells Harivansh she's ready to marry Siddharth. 

We find out later that this is all a plan for revenge and Siddharth and his family are simply doing all this so they can get as much money and benefit out of their relationship with Arti and her family while they torture her for the grief she caused them by breaking the relation. They plan to divorce her later. 

Arti tells Pooja about her renewed marriage plans and says she won't get engaged without Pooja's presence. But the day Pooja is supposed to leave for Panchmarhi, the roads are closed and she is forced to take a lift from BBP, who is reluctant because the hit on his life is still in place. 

On the way, the two draw closer when the car breaks down and they spend time together at a dhaba. Pooja is impressed by how many lives BBP has improved for the better when the owner of the dhaba thanks him for helping his child get into a good school. On the other hand, BBP is again touched when Pooja tells the dhaba owner that she'll eat whatever BBP chooses to have.

Pooja and BBP start discussing their lives and how they deal with their problems. BBP says Pooja has an extraordinary talent and she'll go far. But Pooja thinks BBP is the extraordinary person because he touches so many lives. They decompress with a bit of silliness when Pooja suggests a jalebi-eating competition. BBP is charmed to find out that Pooja is the reigning jalebi-eating champion of Panchmarhi and believes her after losing to her in a landslide. 

The next morning BBP drops Pooja off at her worried parents' home and goes to Sangram Singh's house where he rescues Aparajita, his friend's widow and the reluctant candidate for the panchayat seat that Daddaji wants. Needing a place to hide Aparajita while he moves into the next phase of his plan, BBP takes Aparajita and her small son to the Tiwaris home and asks them to keep the mother-son duo there for a night. He doesn't tell them who they are and Aparajita keeps her face hidden. Harivansh agrees. 

Pooja has a great time recounting tales of her life and work in Bhopal and her family enjoy every bit of it. By accident, however, the Tiwaris come to know the real identity of their guest and they're shocked. Aparajita explains that BBP is only trying to help her escape from her vile father in law who kept her under lock and key after her husband's death. BBP only brought them to the Tiwaris because he trusts them more than his own party members. The Tiwaris are touched and promise to help her. 

The next day Arti's engagement is in progress when Sangram Singh arrives. He's somehow found out and is about to go nuclear on the Tiwaris. Harivansh lies and Pooja manages to sneak Aparajita and her son out of the house but Sangram Singh figures out that he's at the right address. Just as things are about to take a turn for the worse, BBP arrives with the police and media in tow. 

He lets Aparajita announce that she isn't interested in running for the election and withdraws her name. She also clears BBP's name in the murder of her husband. With the media looking on, Sangram Singh is forced to pretend that these are his thoughts as well. But later, he congratulates BBP for his devious planning and threatens the Tiwaris. 

BBP is worried but goes inside to soothe an upset Harivansh and convinces him to go ahead with the engagement despite his reservations after such an inauspicious interruption. Arti's in laws are very eager to get on BBP's good side - Arti's fiance needs a political mentor for a good job and her father in law wants to join politics. BBP is more interested in Pooja. 

Harivansh and Sumitra insist upon Brij and Aparajita staying the night and they agree. BBP has a bad moment when the lights go off and he thinks Sangram Singh might have sent goons to attack the Tiwari house but it turns out Aparajita's son was being naughty. BBP says he can fix it and flirts with Pooja while he does it. 

Pooja gets a call in the middle of dinner. Krish in Bhopal is missing her and has developed feelings for her. Pooja doesn't reciprocate and Harivansh is displeased that strange men are calling her at night. BBP smooths things over and accidentally praises Pooja's cooking skills. Pooja is shy but pleased. 

Harivansh and Sumitra take great pains to make sure BBP will be comfortable at night. They're horrified when he tells them he might be coming down with a cold after bathing in cold water. The Tiwari sisters laugh when Harivansh insists on swaddling Brij in shawls and a monkey cap. BBP is at a loss. 

Later the Tiwaris decide to have a bonfire to enjoy the winter evening and BBP comes out, attracted by the sound of their laughter. His hand accidentally brushes against Pooja's when he sits down and they're both shy. Arti makes BBP sing and the girls laugh at his lack of talent. BBP mock-complains to Harivansh and Pooja has to sing as punishment. She sings Lag Ja Gale and BBP is completely hypnotized. 

Settling into bed, he tells Pooja that nobody's ever taken care of him the way she and her family have. He actually felt loved like a member of their family. Pooja tells him the doors of her home and the hearts of the people in her home will always be open to him. 

Next morning, BBP is drinking tea and reading the newspaper when Arti and Sumitra make him hide in the house so that their nosy neighbor doesn't find him there and spread the news far and wide. BBP is amused. He is touched when he finds out the Tiwaris have made special preparations for his breakfast and bought it from outside. 

After Aparajita leaves for her mother's house, BBP asks Harivansh why he went to get breakfast on the bicycle instead of using his scooter. Harivansh doesn't want to tell BBP that he can't afford to fix his broken down scooter and makes some excuse about not having the time. BBP figures out that this is a lie but Sumitra changes the subject by telling everyone that she just heard that BBP is going to be spending another night in Panchmarhi but he will be staying at the guest house instead of their home. 

The Tiwaris are all upset and Harivansh insists on BBP staying at their home despite his protests that his meetings would inconvenience them. He's become another family member to the Tiwaris. 

Pooja tells him she's mad at him for thinking about going elsewhere and BBP gets the scooter story out of her. He wants to do something to fix it but promises not to spend any money so that he doesn't hurt Harivansh's feelings. 

Arti keeps Sumitra's attention diverted while BBP and Pooja work on the scooter. Pooja gets grease on her face and BBP cleans it off tenderly. When Harivansh gets home and sees his scooter fixed, he's in tears and the entire Tiwari family falls in love with BBP. The two men go off for a celebratory ride around town. 

Arti's greedy in laws have been planning her downfall and how best to use her connection to Pooja and Pooja's connection to BBP to their best advantage. They figure they can treat Arti however they want after the wedding because nobody will believe her over them and even if they do believe her, they can say it's their personal, family matter. They don't even consider this marriage to be a real marriage. 

They call the Tiwaris to talk about fixing an early date for the marriage and find out BBP is staying there for an extra day and get really excited about this growing closeness. The Tiwaris are unaware of this. Harivansh tells Sumitra that BBP won't be staying the night at their place after all since he met some party workers and went off with them on the way. Pooja is severely disappointed by this. 

A restless Pooja is unable to sleep and gets up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water when the phone rings. It's BBP and they flirt. He asks her when she's planning to leave for Bhopal and gets the bus' timing from her. 

The next day Pooja is getting ready to leave when BBP and his men show up at their front door with a handy excuse and offer to give Pooja a ride to Bhopal. Harivansh agrees. Siddharth shows up right then with sweets and fake concern for Pooja and introduces himself to BBP. Pooja cries as she leaves home, like a bride leaving with her groom.