Sharmajee Ki Beti explores the struggles of three women and two girls on their journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance. The film is now streaming on Prime Video.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
The film tells the stories of three women and two teen girls who all share the same last name—Sharma.
Jyoti and her daughter, Swati, come from a middle-class family. Jyoti is a dedicated tuition teacher, which bothers Swati.
Swati, a teenager, feels insecure about her looks and is worried because she has not yet gotten her period, unlike other girls at school.
Jyoti’s husband, Sudhir, is very supportive and takes equal responsibility for raising their daughter and running their household.
However, Swati is opposed to her mother working, believing that it is her mother’s duty, not her father’s, to look after her. She feels that her mother prioritizes her job over her family responsibilities.
Swati’s concerns about her body and dissatisfaction with her mother grow with each passing day. Tensions peak when Swati is made to participate in a school play.
Swati wins an award for her role, but her happiness is short-lived because Jyoti does not come to pick her up. It is Sudhir who comes after making her wait for hours.
Swati accuses her mother of neglecting her and says harsh things to her. Jyoti then tries to spend more time with Swati and earn her forgiveness, but she does not succeed.
In addition to Swati and Jyoti, the film introduces another mother-daughter pair: Gurveen, Jyoti’s best friend, and Gurveen’s mother, Kiran.
Kiran used to live in Patiala with her husband, Vinod, and Gurveen, but after moving to Mumbai a year ago, she feels very lonely.
She tries to make friends, but everyone, including her own mother and husband, seems too busy to talk to her.
Kiran keeps herself occupied with arts and crafts, an activity she is talented at, but no one appreciates her talent except Jyoti, who suggests she make a career out of it.
Kiran organizes a game night to put her talent to use and make new friends, but her efforts go to waste when no one shows up, leaving her dejected.
She suffers another heartbreak when she discovers that her husband is cheating on her, but she does not have the courage to confront him about it.
Like Swati, Kiran’s daughter, Gurveen, is experiencing a teenage crisis of her own. Gurveen is attracted to girls but hesitates to talk to anyone about her sexuality.
Lastly, the film introduces Kiran’s tomboy neighbor, Tanvi, a cricketer who plays for the state team. Tanvi is dating Rohan, an aspiring actor.
Although Tanvi and Rohan like each other, Rohan does not accept Tanvi as she is and keeps trying to change her, wanting his girlfriend to be more feminine.
Tanvi tries to be the woman Rohan wants her to be, but it is difficult for her. Rohan’s expectations of her upset her.
Soon, Rohan gets his big break and proposes to Tanvi because he does not want to leave her behind as he moves forward in his life, which leads to their engagement.
Ending explained:
Jyoti earns Swati’s respect
At the annual felicitation ceremony of the coaching center where Jyoti works, she wins the award for the most inspiring teacher and receives a car as a prize.
For the first time, Swati realizes just how good of a teacher her mother is, seeing the admiration Jyoti’s students have for her due to her hard work.
However, Jyoti’s male colleagues attribute her success to her looks and devalue her efforts. In her acceptance speech, Jyoti highlights how both men and women make it difficult for women to succeed.
She explains that she wants to build a career because it makes her happy and that she does not want to keep justifying her choices, which she has been doing to her colleagues and daughter.
Despite everything, Jyoti thanks her family, causing Swati to feel ashamed of her behavior as she watches her mother receive the love and respect she herself failed to give her.
Swati suddenly starts seeing her mother in a different light and reconciles with her. Additionally, her father teaches her to always respect Jyoti, regardless of awards and prizes.
The support Gurveen receives
The day Gurveen decides to come out to Swati is the day Swati finally gets her period, making her both excited and relieved.
A nervous Gurveen blurts out to Swati that she is gay, and to her surprise, Swati is unfazed. Swati accepts her without any fuss and encourages her to come out to her mother.
When Gurveen does come out to Kiran, she finds out that Kiran already knows and has been waiting for her to realize it herself.
Gurveen’s decision to confide in her makes Kiran happy, as she herself has not had anyone to confide in for a long time.
Kiran changes her life
Kiran then tries to mend her relationship with Vinod, but Vinod thwarts her efforts; he and Kiran have grown apart, and he no longer feels connected to her.
When Kiran confronts him about his affair, he apologizes and admits that he never wanted to get married.
He only married her because he was pressured by his family. He does not feel compatible with Kiran but stayed in the relationship for her and their daughter.
Kiran then realizes that she needs to start living for herself. She parts ways with Vinod on good terms and finds happiness in organizing fests.
Six months later, Kiran is seen living the life she always wanted. She no longer misses Patiala and has become part of the city of Mumbai.
Although she keeps busy now, she tells Vinod that she will always have time to talk to him if he ever feels lonely, having experienced that loneliness herself.
Tanvi’s choice
Tanvi is engaged to Rohan, but she keeps wondering if she did the right thing by accepting his proposal.
Rohan continues to try to change Tanvi because her independence and strength make him insecure. He eventually asks her to stop playing cricket.
Her fear of losing Rohan keeps Tanvi from breaking off the engagement, even though she does not like the idea of giving up her dreams to let Rohan support her.
Rohan never attends any of Tanvi’s matches, but when he finally does, he realizes that Tanvi is an exceptional player.
At the same time, Tanvi realizes that she would rather suffer heartbreak than give up her ambition, so she breaks up with Rohan.
Tanvi’s refusal to change herself and her faith in her abilities are rewarded in the end when she gets to play for the Indian Cricket Team, surrounded by the cheers of her fans.