Q & A

Ram recalls reading a daily horoscope in the Maharashtra Times about how it’s important to consider all sides of an issue. He has just gotten back from the matinee with Salim, who has begun tearing Armaan Ali posters down in the room they’ve both stayed in together for the past three years. Ram briefly lived with an actress named Neelima Kumari in her flat but had to adjust to life in a chawl (tenement).

One day, the chawl administrator, Mr. Ramakrishna, finds Ram and tells him to help some new tenants get settled. The tenants are Mr. Shantaram, his wife, and his daughter. Mr. Shantaram claims to be an astronomer, but Ram doubts him, since astronomers don’t live in chawls. Later, Ram listens through the thin wall and hears Mr. Shantaram telling his wife (Mrs. Shantaram) and daughter (Gudiya) that they’ll have to stay in the chawl until he finds a proper job again. He threatens to beat either of them if he sees them talking to any boys from the chawls.

Ram doesn’t see much of Mr. Shantaram or his family around the chawl at first, and Salim doesn’t even notice them. One night, however, they overhear Mr. Shantaram telling Gudiya about the stars and planets and listen against the wall, fascinated. Ram begins to form a better opinion of Mr. Shantaram.

Then one evening, Mr. Shantaram comes home drunk, and it’s not humorous like drunks in the movies. He swears at his wife and Gudiya. Over time his drinking gets worse, and he starts throwing objects at people, like hot tea at Mrs. Shantaram, which Gudiya stops with her body, getting scalded in the face instead. Mrs. Shantaram takes Gudiya to the hospital, and two days later, she asks Ram to accompany her on a hospital visit.

Ram has never been in a hospital before and is overwhelmed by smells. Much of Gudiya’s face is covered due to burns, but Ram can tell that she seems friendly. She is several years older than he is and tells Ram about how she is preparing to start university so that she can eventually become a doctor. She listens with interest to Ram’s talk about his work in the foundry.

Ram also learns from Gudiya about Mr. Shantaram. He used to be a famous astronomer and even discovered a star, but when one of his colleagues took credit for the discovery, it broke Mr. Shantaram’s spirit and led him to drinking. Gudiya asks Ram to watch over their cat, Pluto, which Ram agrees to do. Gudiya says that after getting to know Ram, he feels like a younger brother to her.

The next morning, however, Ram finds Pluto’s body in the trashcan at the chawl. Its neck has been snapped and Ram smells whiskey on it. He decides to tell Gudiya that Pluto ran away, but he confides to Salim that he’s afraid now of what Mr. Shantaram might do to Gudiya when she gets back. When Gudiya comes home, Ram can’t see her again because Mr. Shantaram forbids any boys from visiting.

A week after Gudiya is back, Ram hears a commotion next door again as Mr. Shantaram apparently “tries to touch her” but “not like a father.” Eventually Mr. Shantaram falls asleep. Ram can hear Gudiya crying through the wall. He notices a hole near the bottom of the wall and lies down to put his hand through it. He feels Gudiya on the other side grab his hand, and he holds it there all night while he falls asleep.

Mr. Shantaram continues to come back drunk, and Ram hears Gudiya and Mrs. Shantaram screaming. Ram goes over to Mr. Ramakrishna to tell him, but Mr. Ramakrishna insists there’s nothing they can do. That evening, Gudiya is crying again and says she’d rather kill herself than live with her father. Ram promises as a brother that he will do something.

The next evening, when Mr. Shantaram is coming home drunk, Ram pushes him down the stairs. He falls, and after he stays limp, it’s only then that Ram realizes what he’s done. He imagines getting caught and suddenly runs away, leaving Salim and his old life in Mumbai behind, headed to Delhi.

In the present, Smita is moved by Ram’s story about Gudiya. They start up the DVD again and watch as Prem Kumar addresses Ram on the quiz show. The host gets interrupted as there is a lighting problem in the middle of the question. Finally, the lights are fixed, and the question is: what is the smallest planet in the solar system? Ram correctly answers Pluto.