Aamras: The Sweet Taste of Friendship

Close friends Jiya Sarang, Pari Sehgal, Rakhi Chadha, and Sanya Balsara are 12th standard students in Mumbai International High School. Jiya is the only one who comes from an impoverished background, had lost her hearing as well as her father in an accident, compelling her sister, Pratibha, to re-locate to Pune, while she now lives in Manori with her widowed mother, who regularly prepares Aamras for the foursome. The school plans a picnic in Mahabaleshwar, but Jiya is unable to attend, so Rakhi steals money from her restaurant-owner father, Jiya lies to her mother and travels with her friends to this scenic locale. It is here she meets with tour guide, Johny, and both are attracted to each other, while an embittered Pari, who has just celebrated her 18th birthday, gets fooled by Nikhil. Bitterness sets in after Pari finds that Johny has written a love letter to Jiya, while Rakhi gets questioned by her parents about the theft; a male named Sharma complains to the school principal about the four friends damaging his car; and Jiya's mother gets hospitalized after being attacked by an unknown male. —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)