Ab Dilli Dur Nahin is a journey of a small boy, Rattan, from his small village to New Delhi in the hope of meeting the Prime Minister of India and plead for his father's release from Prison. Set in 1951, Hariram lives in a small village with his wife Bela and son Rattan. On Diwali night, Bela dies of a snake bite and Hariram's world falls apart and he takes to Alcohol. Unable to pay bills, he threatens the Money Lender. Coincidentally the Money Lender is killed the same night and Hariram is tried and convicted of the crime. Rattan, now alone, gets help from Con-Man Ghasita and a young bunch of street children in his quest to reach New Delhi and free his father.
Entering an apartment block in search of a drink of water, a naive peasant finds himself mistaken for a thief and is chased by the residents. Whilst evading capture, he inadvertently exposes the venality and dishonesty of the building's middle class occupants.
In Calcutta at the turn of the century, two families (one wealthier than the other but both belonging to the same caste) live in adjoining properties. Their respective patriarchs fall out over the repayment of a loan and the intervention of a member of a lower caste in the families' financial arrangements. The rift causes much heartache to the younger members of the families, two of whom have secretly plighted their troth to each other.
