Taken from a Bengali novel, the story is set in the 19th Century and recounts
the fortunes of a Choudhury household. The central character is a member of the
lower middle-class guy called Bhoothnath (Guru Dutt). He is an educated man who
finds accommodation in the ancestral mansion of the Choudhurys. He works at a
nearby factory and is fascinated by the lady of the house, known to all as Choti
Bahu (Meena Kumari). Her husband (Rehman) prefers the company of dancing girls
and all-night drinking bouts.
