The controversial film, based on a play by Bengali actor Utpal Dutt, tells the story of veteran thespian Harish Mishra (Amitabh Bachchan), who has left the stage to retreat to his Kolkata flat. He's cajoled out of retirement by hotshot film director, Siddharth (Arjun Rampal), who wants him to star in a movie about an old clown in a dying circus.