A story based in Benaras about four lives that intersect along the Ganga. A lower-caste boy in a hopeless love, a daughter torn with guilt, a father sinking in greed and a spirited kid craving for a family, each one is yearning to escape the constrictions of a small town.

Through the intertwined tales of its lead characters, Masaan probes the interpersonal consequences of caste- and gender-based oppression. Filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan won the Promising Future prize at Cannes for this evocative portrait of small towns standing at the cusp of tradition and modernity.