Pagglait is a dark comedy-drama film, starring Sanya Malhotra in the lead, now streaming on Netflix.
Sandhya Giri (Sanya Malhotra) married Astik just a few months before the start of film. When the viewers are introduced to the characters, Astik has just passed away.
Everybody in the family is grieving, and now the parents must also play hosts to guests and the brother must carry out all the post-death rituals and rites.
Sandhya is expected to be the worst-hit by the tragedy, however, she finds herself feeling completely normal; not wanting to cry and she feels as hungry as ever.
To make matters worse, Sandhya finds a picture of Astik’s ex-girlfriend Akansha Roy (Sayani Gupta) and assumes he was having an affair.
She also slowly begins to realise she never really knew Astik, and the two had been distant throughout their marriage.
As days pass, it’s evident that Astik’s family has heavy financial load and little means of overcoming it without their eldest son. They see Sandhya as only an added burden to the family.
Amidst all the chaos and confusion, does Sandhya find her true self? Did you miss out on something or are still confused about the end?
Here’s the ending of Pagglait explained in detail (final 30 minutes):
Attempting to force Sandhya out
Astik had signed up for life insurance before his death and given Sandhya’s name as the sole beneficiary of the Rs 50 lakh amount, and she is set to receive the claim, much to the annoyance of Astik’s financially-burdened family.
Her in-laws reach the insurance agent in-charge (Sharib Hashmi) to try and bribe him into changing the name of beneficiary, but he refuses and reprimands them for trying to betray their widowed daughter-in-law.
Astik’s cousin Aditya (Nakul Sahdev) asks Sandhya to marry him, and she accepts believing that he loves her. The in-laws are elated at the prospect of being free from Sandhya’s responsibility and the insurance money remaining in the family, technically.
Sandhya’s mother (Natasha Rastogi) confronts her saying that Aditya is only marrying her for the insurance money as he needs it to start his own restaurant.
Will Sandhya marry Aditya?
Astik’s brother Alok (Chetan Sharma) also tells Sandhya that Aditya is marrying her for the money, and does not really love her. Alok also confesses that it is, in fact, he who actually loves her.
Sandhya is shocked at his confession, and rebuffs him saying that she is his sister-in-law, much to his sadness. He leaves in tears.
Sandhya decides not to repeat her mistake of marrying Astik without really knowing him and requests Aditya that the two get to know each other before marriage.
As the 13th day arrives, Alok is in tears carrying out the last rites, and the family believe it’s due to grief for his brother, but it’s actually the sadness of rejection.
As the rituals are in progress, Aditya packs his bag and leaves the house after Sandhya tells him that she is pregnant with Astik’s child. The marriage is called off.
Sandhya takes charge of her life
Sandhya leaves a letter of the family, revealing that she lied to Aditya about her pregnancy to test whether he actually loved her unconditionally, and he clearly did not.
Finally discovering herself, she says she has a job interview and has decided to be independent after realising that if she does not take her own decisions, someone will take them for her.
She also leaves the Rs 50-lakh cheque for Astik’s parents, since they actually need it much more than her, even though they never told her directly.
Similar to how Astik’s soul is supposed to find his new form in heaven after 13 days, Sandhya says she has finally found her life.
Calling Akansha to the bus station, she gives her the picture Astik held on to, hinting that she has let go of all grudges and actually moved on completely.
She tells Alok to find a girl for himself and that she will need Astik’s laptop and charger, now that she is finding a job.
In the final shots, Sandhya is shown to be truly content as she looks forward to her new lease of life, provided to her through the death of her husband.
It is never revealed how Astik actually died, but then again, this story was never really about that, as the viewers discover by the end.
Still mesmerised by the beautiful tracks from Pagglait? Here’s the entire jukebox of music composed by Arijit Singh.
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