It is a metaphor for the journey of a woman called Gaja Gamini (Madhuri Dixit), who is suspended in time and space along with a spectrum of characters taken from art, history, music and poetry. These characters, who voice the aesthetics of feminine beauty, act as points of reference and are in constant dialogue with each other on the essence and identity of a woman. The characters range from Noorbibi of Satara - a symbol of stability, Shakuntala -- the black princess conceived in the poetry of the great Kalidaas, Monica -- the boat woman, searching for existential love, Phoolwania -- the flower girl with a red band tied across her forehead, a symbol of her slain husband, and many more characters.

Along with these women she consolidates the power ('shakti') of woman-kind in a man's world. The film is an operatic ballet, punctuated with colours and music, which keeps oscillating between illusion and reality. In short, a journey through the eyes of a painter, M F Hussain.

Expectedly, the film does not follow the norms of the conventional sort of cinema to which we are so accustomed. It was Hussain's fantasy to make a film with Madhuri Dixit and he's made it!

Madhuri Dixit looks gorgeous in every frame and in every role. She enacts all the different roles with required amount of oomph and grace. Her dances and expressions are magnificent. One cannot think of any actress doing these various roles with so much of dignity. No doubt she is one of the finest actresses in the Hindi film industry who has the perfect combination of talent, grace and beauty. Another is Shah Rukh Khan (who plays himself) which brings some relief in the film. His song with Madhuri Do Saddiyon... is visually appealing and good to listen. Other big star casts fail to impress and are uncomfortable in their costumes.

The sets are colourful and look like beautiful paintings.