Choked (Paisa Bolta Hai) 2020

In the bustling metropolis of Mumbai, Sarita Pillai (Saiyami Kher) and her husband Sushant (Roshan Mathew) navigate the ups and downs of life as a lower-middle-class family. The couple’s young son Sameer (Parthveer Shukla) brings joy to their humble abode, but beneath the surface lies a web of tension and anxiety. For Sarita, the scars of her past still linger, a constant reminder of the humiliation she endured during a reality singing competition where she froze onstage in front of a sea of faces. This traumatic experience has left her with a lingering sense of inadequacy, which is further exacerbated by Sushant’s perceived mocking and criticism.

As Sarita shoulders the burden of being the family’s sole breadwinner, working tirelessly as a bank teller while Sushant struggles to find stable employment or resort to small-time schemes to make ends meet. The constant pressure takes a toll on their relationship, with frequent fights and disagreements arising from the weight of responsibilities. Meanwhile, Sushant’s friend Dinesh (Uday Nene) adds fuel to the fire by ridiculing Sushant for his lack of financial success, further eroding his sense of self-worth.

In this volatile atmosphere, a mysterious stranger introduces a new dynamic to their lives. The enigmatic figure, rumored to be the personal assistant of a powerful politician, quietly deposits large cash bundles in an unusual location – the bathroom drain. As the sounds of hidden wealth reverberate through the Pillai’s kitchen sink, Sarita begins to sense that something is amiss.

One fateful night, as she rises to quench her thirst, the strange noises reach a fever pitch. Curiosity gets the better of her, and she decides to investigate. To her astonishment, she uncovers the stash of cash, which she promptly verifies at her bank before putting it to good use – paying off Sushant’s debts and indulging in luxurious purchases for their home. When Sushant presses her for an explanation, Sarita spins a web of deceit, attributing the windfall to her mother’s fixed deposit. Little does she know that this discovery will have far-reaching consequences for their relationship and their lives.

As Sarita’s life begins to flourish once more, courtesy of her newfound financial freedom, she finds herself increasingly entwined in the struggles of those around her. Her downstairs neighbor, Sharvari Tai (Amruta Subhash), is a constant source of tension, their amiable yet frazzled relationship marked by Tai’s persistent complaints about the seepage from Sarita’s home, which threatens to ruin her own paintwork and walls.

In the midst of this chaos, Sarita has developed a sense of nocturnal routine, rising each night to tend to her kitchen pipeline and indulge in the luxuries that her newfound wealth affords. But all too soon, her good fortune is upended by the unexpected announcement from Prime Minister Modi, introducing demonetization and rendering the high-value notes of Rs. 500 and 1000 worthless.

As the news sinks in, Sarita’s world begins to unravel once more, with Tai’s own struggles taking on a new level of urgency as she prepares for her daughter’s wedding. The two women are left reeling, their reliance on Sarita’s newfound wealth now rendered precarious at best.

Meanwhile, Sushant is increasingly beset by suspicions about Sarita’s fidelity, his doubts fueled by the revelation of a compromising video (taken by an anonymous aunt from their society) that appears to show Sarita in a compromising situation with Reddy (Upendra Limaye), the man who had previously borrowed money from Sarita and whom Sushant has since repaid.

As the demonetization crisis deepens, Sarita finds herself at the center of a maelstrom of demands from those around her. Reddy, ever the entrepreneur, sees an opportunity in the chaos and pressures Sarita to help him in his currency exchange business, depositing large sums of cash into her accounts with reckless abandon.

Sharvari Tai, meanwhile, is desperate to exchange her own hoard of old notes for new ones, pleading with Sarita to assist her in this endeavor. With Rs. 80,000 in cash at stake, Tai resorts to emotional blackmail, leaving Sarita torn between her loyalty to her neighbor and the crushing weight of her own financial struggles.

As Sarita ventures into the kitchen, her curiosity is piqued by a surprising discovery: a stash of Rs. 2000 denomination currency notes, a revelation that fills her with excitement despite the national government’s cash restrictions. Her secret becomes the driving force behind her actions, leading her to go to great lengths to conceal it from even her closest confidant, Sushant (character name not provided). She takes extraordinary measures to safeguard this newfound wealth, frequently locking up her kitchen and preventing unwanted guests - including Sharvari’s wedding attendees who take refuge at Sarita’s house - from even setting foot in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Sushant is left feeling perplexed by Sarita’s sudden secrecy, suspecting that she may be using her newfound wealth to curry favor with Reddy, a suspicion that ultimately proves unfounded when it is revealed that Reddy is actually harassing Sarita over an outstanding debt.

However, Sarita’s good fortune is short-lived. A daring heist unfolds as thieves hold bank employees at gunpoint and make off with the cash, including the stash she had kept in her purse. The news of this sudden turn of events leaves her feeling crestfallen and despairing, as if her luck has abandoned her at the most critical moments - both during her reality singing show performance and now with her hopes for a brighter financial future shattered.

Despite Sushant’s attempts to reassure her, Sarita remains withdrawn and hidden away, unaware that the police are hot on the trail of a large-scale criminal investigation into the sudden appearance of Rs. 2000 denomination notes in the possession of a local politician who has allegedly extracted this wealth from a corrupt bank officer in another city.

When the authorities turn their attention to Sarita, she is left reeling, her use of the “choked money” now putting her at risk of being implicated in a crime she had no part in. The police seek to understand how she came to possess bank notes issued from a different branch, only for Sushant’s intervention to reveal the truth about the zip-lock bagged money.

As the investigation unfolds, the Pillai’s neighbor inadvertently deduces that the large bags of cash being brought into their building belong to an assistant of the local politician, and they make off with significant sums before returning home. The authorities then turn their attention to Sushant, extracting details about the stash of cash that had been hidden away.

As the curtain closes on the whirlwind adventure of the Pillai family, a tantalizing prospect unfolds like a gift-wrapped surprise. A year having passed since their last thrilling escapade, they return from their travels to find an unexpected windfall waiting in the wings. The authorities, it seems, have been holding onto a small fortune seized during a daring raid, and the Pillais are invited to claim their rightful share - a whopping 10% of the haul. But as they eagerly inquire about the size of this sweet sum, the screen fades to black, leaving audiences wondering what could be the magnitude of this financial bonanza.