For many years the great Emir of Bukhara has not known happiness - he has lost the taste to delightful khalva, and now life is as sour as a lemon for him. The house of poor pot-maker Shir-Mamed, however, is full of happiness - his little son Hodzha Nasreddin has been born. Rumours have spread about his unusual abilities - maybe he will be able to make the Emir happy again?
The film takes place in an Indian village at the end of the 19th century. Colonial reality, the arbitrariness of the authorities, the slaughter of peasants ...
Having once seen a portrait of the shah dancer Madina Banu, the singer Murad-ali falls in love with a beauty and sets off in search of her. The hero finds himself in the palace of the Shah, and soon becomes convinced of the reciprocity of his feelings. But his appearance becomes known to the Shah. An angry ruler offers him a choice: rejection of his beloved or the burning of both at the stake.
