Praveen Tewari, a Bank watchman, resides in Kolkata with his wife Shikha and daughter Tukai. His salary is usually stalled for months like a number of government employers. When the Corona pandemic emerges, everybody is buying and wearing masks, except Praveen. He simply denies wearing one, and regularly finds various propagandas from a YouTube channel. He has been so extensively tortured by the people nearby that he even dreams of people forcing him to wear a mask. The story takes a twisted turn when he gets into an argument with a customer which ultimately leaves him jobless. Broken and dejected by the family and society, Praveen turns alcoholic along with a bus conductor who eventually denies providing him more alcohol unless he wears a mask. Haunted with the desire to consume more alcohol, he puts on his mask.
Based on Nabarun Bhattacharyas novel of the same name which won the highest literary prize in India in 1997, Suman Mukhopadhyays debut feature Herbert is a deeply moving and artistically accomplished motion picture full of profound laughter, pathos, and humanity.
