SPOILER ALERT
One of the most commendable aspects of “Sui Dhaaga” is the accuracy with which Sharat Katariya has portrayed its environment. “Sui Dhaaga” plays out in an urban setting with its protagonists hailing from a somewhat impoverished household. Mauji lives with his wife Mamta and his parents. He earns a meagre living working as an assistant in a shop.
The roles in Mauji’s household are divided on the basis of gender. His mother and wife do all the cooking and take care of household chores while Mauji earns a living by toiling every day and his father has retired from his job. What comes as no surprise is the fact that Mauji and his wife have had little communication since they got married. His wife Mamta is portrayed as a meek housewife who seems like the last person to voice her opinion. As the movie unfolds, we find out that this couldn’t be further from the truth.
At Mauji’s boss’ son’s wedding, Mauji is humiliated by the son. Mamta, on seeing this is deeply pained. She confronts Mauji and tells him that he should uphold his self-respect and not be made into a joke. This is the first time that Mauji and his wife communicate honestly with each other. Mauji decides to quit his day job and start sewing clothes, as his wife encouraged him to do. He feels enthused at the prospect of starting something of his own and his wife feels elated that he paid heed to her advice. Soon after Mauji quits his job, he and Mamta embark to set up the business.
In the early parts of the movie, we get to see Mamta’s entrepreneurial vision as she assists Mauji in setting up his sewing stall and is filled with ideas to further his venture. This breaks the stereotype that a woman is meant to be wedded into a family after which her roles are limited to handling household chores. Mamta initially helps Mauji set up a stall with the least investment possible.
Mauji and Mamta’s path to success is met with many hurdles, from the loss of Mauji’s sewing machine to both of them crossing the border to acquire another sewing machine and then working relentlessly in a factory and being exploited. Amidst all this, Mauji’s mother gets admitted in the hospital for a cardiac problem and he struggles to pay for her treatment.
The movie takes a turn towards its second half when Mauji and Mamta’s venture suffers a major setback. This comes after they storm out of the garment factory where they were being exploited. While Mauji starts a fight with the factory workers, Mamata maintains a calm demeanour. She goes back to the factory and tries to reason with the boss to return her their sewing machine but her appeals fall on deaf ears.
One thing which inevitably comes across is that both Mauji and Mamta embody an invincible attitude at all points throughout their struggle. Despite being completely devastated, see a ray of hope. They decide to take part in Fashion Fund, a contest to design clothes in which their former boss also enrols.
They stand out from all the other contestants in the competition due to their different background but nonetheless they manage to impress the judges. In the end, despite the judges warning them of a defeat in the contest due to their poor economic background, they emerge as victors of the contest. Not only Mamta and Mauji, but their entire neighbourhood, who had helped them to get this far, are elated. In their elation, we not only witness a rags-to-riches story but also the unity which exists among all of them.