The film is an adaptation of a play by Henrik Ibsen: An Enemy of the People. Dr. Ashoke Gupta is the head of a town hospital. Gupta’s younger brother, Nisith, is the head of the committees running the hospital and a temple. Dr. Gupta is convinced that the holy water of the temple is contaminated due to faulty pipe laying that causes an epidemic in town. He warns his brother Nisith. Nisith, the Industrialist and other town officials reject the idea that holy water might be the cause of the epidemic. Left with no alternative, Dr. Gupta organises a public meeting that is also sabotaged. And Dr. Gupta is proclaimed an enemy of the people.

Director: Satyajit Ray