对于8岁的男孩伊夏（达席尔·萨法瑞 Darsheel Safary 饰）来说，世界是充满了惊奇和快乐的万花筒，他正在用一切他能够想到的方式和这个陌生的世界进行着交流，同时也充分的享受着大地万物慷慨的赠与。可是，这样的伊夏却是成年人眼中的问题儿童，他的成绩不好，在班上的排名靠后， 脑子里还充满了各种匪夷所思的鬼点子，在又一次闯下大祸后，忍无可忍的父母将他送往了寄宿学校。 虽然伊夏的新生活并没有什么改变，但在内心里，和父母分离的生活让他感到闷闷不乐，这时，一位名叫尼克（阿米尔·汗 Aamir Khan 饰）的美术老师走进了他的生活。和以往所见到的固守成规的老师不同，尼克主张让学生们保留自己的个性和思想，自由的发展。在和尼克相处的日子里，伊夏和尼克都慢慢的成熟了起来。

基于Karlene Faith 所著纪实文学《The Long Prison Journey of Leslie van Houten: Life Beyond The Cult》和Ed Sanders所著小说《The Family》，讲述在震惊世界的曼森谋杀案发生后，三位曼森家族的成员Leslie Van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkel和Susan Atkins被判终身监禁，研究生Faith被派去监狱对她们进行教导，三人将重新审视噩梦般的罪行。

甘加·哈吉万达斯(阿莉雅·布哈特 饰)出生于Kathiawar的一个富裕家庭，她的梦想是成为一名宝莱坞女演员。在16岁时，她爱上了拉姆尼克·拉尔(瓦伦·卡普尔 饰)。拉姆尼克答表示甘加可以在他的姨妈希拉的指导下进入电影行业，因此他们私奔到孟买。但是，她的生活从此发生了翻天覆地的变化。因为他以1000卢比将她卖给了卡马提普拉的一家妓院，她不得不开始卖淫。后来，她成了有势力的妓院老板娘甘古拜·卡蒂亚瓦迪，并赢得了她居住地区（卡马提普拉）的选举。唐·拉希姆·拉拉打了一个强奸她的同伙后，成为她的结拜兄弟。甘谷后来爱上了一个年轻的裁缝阿夫萨恩。她曾经倡导妇女权利和性工作者的平等权利。

The story begins in 1996 when Colonel Sodhi, now 70, visits his sister and her family. However, even after over half a century, the nightmares of his intense battle and its aftermath often return to haunt him. Old Sodhi and young Amar begin to bond and Sodhi accompanies Amar to Burma (Myanmar) for an assignment from BBC to shoot a documentary on the students against the Military Junta for freedom and democracy. In Singapore, Sodhi visits the places which bring back the memories of him as a Lieutenant in the British Indian Army Lt. Sodhi meets a beautiful photographer Maya who inspires him to change. Sodhi falls in love with Maya who joins the Indian National Army. Old Sodhi lands in Burma with Amar, and is welcomed by an Indian girl Rani. They accidentally get caught in the student protest and firing by the Military Junta to suppress the student agitation. When the soldiers of the Military Junta get rough and violent with Amar and Rani, old Sodhi is suddenly transformed into the young Lt.Sodhi and kills the two Burmese soldiers to defend his group.Old Sodhi and his group's escape from the Burmese soldiers runs parallel to the attack by the British bombers on Lt.Sodhi's unit. In 1944, the Indian National Army, tired, hungry, cold, feverish, sick had reached Imphal to defend it against all the odds piled heavily against them. In a school set up by Rani's grandmother, Old Sodhi finds the photograph of Maya and realizes that Maya has been dead. Old Sodhi, finally redeems himself by helping his young group safely cross over from Burma into India, and keep his promise to Maya that he would one day return to Burma to find her and be with her when his body is blown by the Burmese soldiers to ashes and glory.