AllMovie

A restless boatman from Kashmir becomes caught in the middle of a tense struggle between his working class community and the conservation initiative that would destroy it after falling for a beautiful American scientist who works for the government. Gulzar (Gulzar Bhat) spends most of his days ferrying tourists around Dal Lake, and dreaming of someday leaving to start a new life elsewhere. When the violence around his picturesque home grows too horrible to ignore, Gulzar and his best friend Afzal (Afzal Sofi) decide that it's finally time to leave. Before they can run away, however, the military enacts a week-long curfew that makes escape impossible. Meanwhile, Gulzar lands a job guiding pretty American scientist Asifa (Neelofar Hamid) around Dal Lake. Asifa has been hired by the government to conduct an environmental study, and as she collects water samples, the pair develops a bond that Gulzar dreams will be his ticket out of Kashmir. But when Asifa discovers alarming levels of pollutants in the lake, she draws up a strict conservation plan that would necessitate evicting the thriving lakeside community that Gulzar grew up in. With his community in an uproar, Gulzar is forced to choose where his loyalties lie, and realizes that despite his dreams of travel, Kashmir will always be his home.