Parched is the story of four women residents of a desert village of Rajasthan, India. The village and the society are plagued by several social evils and age-old traditions and practices of patriarchy, child marriage, dowry, marital rapes and physical and mental abuse.
Rani (Tannishtha Chatterjee) is a widow struggling to support her old mother-in-law and teenage son Gulab (Riddhi Sen). Following village customs, Rani marries Gulab to a child bride by paying a hefty sum to the bride's family from another village. Meanwhile, Gulab is rebellious and prefers to loiter with a gang of spoilt friends, and spend time with prostitutes. Janki (Lehar Khan), the child bride, revolts to the marriage by chopping off her hair, but is still forced into the relation. Lajjo (Radhika Apte) lives in the same village as Rani, and is a close friend and aid in Rani's struggles. Lajjo is struggling a abusive marriage with an alcoholic husband, Manoj (Mahesh Balraj). Having failed at being pregnant, Lajjo is labelled a "baanjh" or infertile by her husband and the society at large. The fourth woman is Bijli (Surveen Chawla). Bijli is an erotic dancer in a local entertainment company. She is an eye candy for the men in the village and doubles up as a prostitute. Because of her profession, Bijli is ridiculed in the day and considered a taboo at auspicious events. Bijli is a close friend and advisor to both Rani and Lajjo.
The movie starts with Rani and Lajjo visiting another village to see Janki and fix a price for the marriage. Meanwhile Gulab is seen loitering with his friends. He chases and teases an educated woman till her husband, Kishan (Sumeet Vyas) approaches. While at Janki's house, Rani receives an anonymous phone call from a person who tries to charm her. Although Rani is excited by being approached by a man, her happiness wanes when she realizes that her widowhood may be unknown to him. Later, at the Gram Panchayat, the whole village participates in solving local issues. The first issue is of a girl named Champa (Sayani Gupta) who returned to her parents, absconding from her marital home. The Panchayat forces her to return despite her revelation that her brother-in-law sexually abuses her. Kishan and his wife try intervening but are ridiculed for their progressive opinions and Kishan's marriage to an educated woman from outside of the state.
Kishan is a progressive local entrepreneur and employs women in the village for handicrafts and handloom jobs. Both Rani and Lajjo, among other women in the village, work for Kishan and are proud of the money they make of their hard work. In another matter at the Panchayat, the women collectively demand a satellite dish TV connection so that men stop visiting erotic dance shows and being alcoholics. The women are empowered by their own funds, which they have earned thanks to Kishan, and their demand could hence not be denied.
The village men who claim morality and traditions to maintain patriarchy are later seen at an erotic dance with Bijli on stage. Gulab is seen engaging with prostitutes prior to his marriage to uphold his manhood. Lajjo is repeatedly abused by her husband and blamed for being infertile. Gulab's marriage with Janki pushes Gulab deeper into the darker areas of loitering and prostitution. Matters constantly go downhill as Gulab later is kidnapped for not paying up a prostitute. Gulab, among other men, are jealous of the women's stronger stand with the money they have earned. They take revenge on Kishan by destroying his goods, which drives Kishan and his wife out of the village. Janki also struggles in the marriage and is repeatedly beaten by Gulab in an inebriated state.
The four women get together and in a desire for freedom visit a local fort where they get a chance to talk freely. Later, Rani relieves Janki of her marriage, and lets her go with a childhood lover instead. Lajjo realizes that her inability to give birth might also be just his husband's inability. In an experiment, Lajjo has sex outside her marriage with a man (Adil Hussain) known to Bijli and becomes pregnant. She projects it to Manoj as their kid, and realizes Manoj is aware of his impotency. Manoj bids to physically abuse her while she revolts. As Rani witnesses, Manoj falls on fire and is burnt alive. Rani, Lajjo and Bijli together finally run away from the village in a search for a better life, away from all the misery of customs, traditions and patriarchy.
CAST
• Tannishtha Chatterjee...... as Rani
• Radhika Apte...... as Lajjo
• Surveen Chawla...... as Bijli
• Adil Hussain...... as mystic lover
• Sumeet Vyas...... as Kishan[4]
• Lehar Khan...... as Janki, Gulab's wife
• Riddhi Sen...... as Gulab, Rani's son
• Sayani Gupta...... as Champa
