‘Jalsa,’ directed by Suresh Triveni, is a Hindi language thriller drama film available on Amazon Prime. It follows Maya, a prominent journalist who hits a small girl by mistake with her racing car. She turns out to be Ruksana’s daughter, who works as a cook in Maya’s house. While Ruksana searches for her daughter’s perpetrator and seeks justice, a guilt-ridden Maya is left reeling from the consequences of her actions. On the other side, Rohini, a young journalist, becomes involved in the inquiry and discovers terrible details about the case.

As further truths are discovered, all three of them face moral quandaries while attempting to come to terms with the tragic catastrophe that binds their destiny. ‘Jalsa,’ starring Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah, explores the fine line between good and wrong, which can become too heavy on a person’s conscience. Furthermore, the interesting ending leaves the viewer with many unanswered concerns concerning the protagonists’ choices. Let’s take a closer look at them. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

Synopsis of the Jalsa Plot

Maya Menon is a well-known journalist who is regarded as the embodiment of truth and justice. She lives in Mumbai with her mother, Rukmini, and her son, Ayush, a disabled little kid. The family is heavily reliant on Ruksana, their chef, who treats Ayush as if he were her own son and attends to his everyday needs. Maya leaves the office late one night and, unable to get a cab, decides to drive herself home. She falls asleep behind the wheel due to exhaustion and accidentally hits a small girl who appears in front of the car.

Maya, terrified by what she has just done, mulls over whether to check on the girl and transport her to the hospital. However, her fear overcomes her and she drives away, leaving the critically injured girl to die. The child is revealed to be Alia, Ruksana’s 18-year-old daughter, the next morning, much to her chagrin. Alia had slipped out the night before to meet her lover and was hit by Maya’s car while attempting to cross the street, unbeknownst to her parents. She lives and is sent to the hospital in a critical condition.

Meanwhile, Maya begins to sink in guilt and terror, doing everything she can to cover all traces and evidence that point to her. However, Rohini, a talented young journalist under her supervision, decides to cover Alia’s accident case and begins her inquiry. Soon after, she discovers evidence that implicates Maya and two cops, Pradeep and More, who are attempting to conceal the case and trick Ruksana into accepting an out-of-court settlement.

More admits to Rohini that he and Pradeep were recorded collecting bribe money on the security camera at the accident site, and that in order to safeguard their reputation, they buried the tape and attempted to close the case. They also extorted money from a local politician’s son, with whom they got into a fight that night, in order to pay Alia’s parents. When More makes an impassioned plea to Rohini to dismiss the case, she is torn between being truthful about her employment and safeguarding his family’s future.

Elsewhere, Alia’s boyfriend arrives and tells her mother about the events of that fateful night, revealing that Maya is the one who caused the accident and fled. Ruksana, enraged and stunned, must then choose between forgiving Maya and pursuing vengeance for her daughter’s plight. As a result, both women find themselves in a contradictory scenario that puts their love for their children to the test.

Jalsa’s End: Did Ruksana Mean to Kill Ayush?

When Ruksana discovers that Maya is to blame for Alia’s tragedy, her admiration for her boss is shattered, and she begins to detest her for her daughter’s grave condition. After much deliberation, she goes to Maya’s residence and informs Rukmini that she is resigning. But when the latter persuades her to stay, Ruksana agrees quietly and joins Ayush on a trip to the beach.

When Ruksana arrives at the beach, she takes the happy youngster to the water’s edge and first abandons him there to perish in the tide. She intends to get revenge on Maya for injuring her daughter and lying to her. Meanwhile, Rukmini informs Maya that Ruksana took Ayush to the beach but left behind a large sum of money. A terrified Maya hurries to the beach, afraid for Ayush’s life, after realising it is the settlement money the cops offered Ruksana and that she knows the truth.

Maya’s car becomes caught in traffic on her way because of the birthday celebrations of the very politician who bribed More and Pradeep. She begins to feel trapped by the consequences of her actions and urgently attempts to make her way to the beach. Ruksana, on the other hand, sits along the seashore, unable to decide whether to be selfish and kill Ayush or to be considerate and let him go.

Is Ruksana Forgiving Maya?

When Maya eventually arrives at the shore, she hurries to retrieve her son, fearful that Ruksana has murdered him in retribution. But, to her relief, she discovers him safe and sound with Ruksana, who is playing with the latter’s son Imaad. Maya, in relief and remorse, and Ruksana, in the closure she has found, sit in silence with each other.

Though Ruksana does not verbally forgive Maya, she resolves to let go of the idea that letting her go through the agony of losing her son would provide any relief to her daughter’s anguish. As a result, she simply shocks Maya enough to make her comprehend the seriousness of her acts and, finally, accept the reality of their situation.

Maya, on the other hand, resolves to face the consequences of her actions and confesses her side of the tale to Rohini, requesting her to film it and make the narrative public. Meeting a recovering Alia in the hospital wakes Maya’s conscience, and she tells Rohini about her role in the disaster. Later, when she discovers Ayush alive with Ruksana, she is relieved to know that, while things will never be the same again, she has finally done the right thing.