| Synopsis |
 |
"Humkadam" is the story of a middle-class family in a big city going through severe financial strains which threaten to break it down. |
|
Shekhar Gupta, a head-clerk in a private firm, faces a financial crisis when his father - a retired school master in village - comes to stay with him in Bombay. His limited income is not enough to meet the needs of the entire family: Shekhar and his wife Indu; his father, mother, sister and a kid.
|
|
After mutual discussions, the couple decides on Indu's taking up a job to bolster their tottering economy. Raghunath - Shekhar's father - is an old-fashioned man and he does not approve of his daughter-in-law going out in search of a career. Indu goes ahead and gets a job of a door-to-door saleswoman. At first, she finds the job difficult. Then slowly she picks up the tricks of the trade and succeeds in earning handsome commission over and above her salary. Towards the end of a month, when Indu brings her pay-packet home, all are happy - except Shekhar's father, Raghunath.
|
|
|
|
Gradually, as Indu's career picks up, she is unable to devote as much time to the household and its members as before. Raghunath, who resents Indu's late-comings, succeeds in arousing his son, Shekhar's suspicion about Indu. This leads to frequent quarrels between the husband and wife culminating in Shekhar's command to Indu to resign from her job. |
|
Later, however, when Indu was about to tender her resignation, Shekhar telephones her not to do so, become, the firm he was working for had closed down and he was jobless. |
|
A new phase of suffering starts. Shekhar, frustrated, sulks and drifts away from Indu. Misunderstanding grows. Shekhar becomes allergic to even genuine sympathy from Indu. The relations get strained. One little thing leads to another and finally one day they both burst out. In the evening when Indu returns, she does not find Shekhar at home.
|
|
|
|
