Behind the Beautiful Forevers

The day of the hut renovation arrives, with the entire Husain family helping out. Mahadeo, Asha’s husband, helps also. Asha has recently begun hiding her purse, and Mahadeo is having a hard time affording his alcohol habit. The renovations cause a great deal of excitement in the slum, with many people coming out to watch and sharing their memories of how the Husains almost lost everything three years earlier when Annawadi flooded. Abdul alone has reservations about the improvements; he feels they are simply calling attention to themselves as a prosperous Muslim family and could become the target of retaliation.

While the Husains lay tile and build a new cooking shelf for the kitchen, Fatima complains about the noise next door. The Husains beg her to be patient, saying the renovations will only take the day, but Fatima complains that rubble from the brick wall has gotten into her rice and ruined her dinner. Zehrunisa and Fatima exchange insults, and Fatima heads down to the police station to complain that she has been beaten by Zehrunisa. Zehrunisa has no choice but to hurry to the police station to clear her name. A police officer dismisses Fatima, but Zehrunisa is told to wait at the station. Asha stops by, offering to help solve the problem with Fatima—if Zehrunisa will pay her 1,000 rupees, Asha will convince Fatima not to cause any more trouble. Zehrunisa refuses, saying they will work it out with Fatima’s husband instead.

Fatima returns to her hut and continues to fight with the Husains. This time Kehkashan becomes involved, screaming insults at Fatima and threatening to twist off her remaining leg. Karam also becomes involved in the fight, ordering Abdul to beat Fatima. Kehkashan convinces him to wait until Zehrunisa returns from the police station to settle things.

At this point, with evening approaching, Fatima shuts herself inside her hut. Her daughter Noori peeks inside the hole that serves as a window and sees Fatima pouring kerosene on top of her head. Next, they hear a whoosh, and Fatima is on fire. By the time some boys from the slum force their way inside the hut, Fatima is burning but still alive.

While the Annawadi residents debate how to get Fatima to the hospital and argue over who will pay the cost of her transportation, Kehkashan orders her brothers and father to run before the burning can be blamed on them. Asha agrees to pay for the rickshaw but refuses to accompany Fatima to the hospital or become involved any further. Finally, it is decided that when Fatima’s husband returns from work, he can take her to the hospital.

In Cooper Hospital women from Annawadi visit Fatima, including Zehrunisa, who reminds her that there were many witnesses to what happened. Asha offers to help again—if Zehrunisa will pay for a bed in a private hospital, Fatima will tell the police that the Husains were not involved in her burning.

Fatima’s statement to the police has changed several times. First, she claimed that Karam, Abdul, and Kehkashan set her on fire, which led to Karam’s arrest and Abdul’s hiding (the scene from the Prologue). However, the police learned that this was untrue, mainly because Noori saw her mother pour kerosene on herself. Then, a government official named Poornima Paikrao arrives to take another statement from Fatima, in which Fatima claims that the Husains incited her to commit suicide—a serious crime. Fatima names Karam, Abdul, and Kehkashan; Zehrunisa is spared only because she has an airtight alibi, as she was waiting to be dismissed from the police station after Fatima’s other charges. Paikrao then seeks out the Husains, hoping to blackmail them with the story. If the Husains will pay her, she will convince Fatima to change her story again.

Meanwhile, Fatima’s condition worsens. Her husband comes to visit and bring her food, which is not available in the hospital. The doctor advises her to drink bottled water, which her husband cannot afford. With no medication available, Fatima’s wounds become infected.

Abdul, who has turned himself in to the police, hoping this will free his father, is beaten by the officers. Zehrunisa, at the station to plead for Abdul’s release, hears her son’s screams. He is housed in a cell with seven other prisoners, including his father, who has also been beaten. Abdul insists to whoever will listen that he never touched Fatima. Karam tries to reassure his son that the truth would come out. Neither seems to consider the profit to be made from their situation—the beatings will stop, and the false charge will not be filed, if only the Husains will pay.

It is left to Zehrunisa to handle the financial aspect of the imprisonment. Asha, who gave advice to Zehrunisa for free at first, is now demanding payment. Zehrunisa had paid Officer Thokal for her own release from the police station while Fatima was burning, but now everyone from Asha to Paikrao is asking for money. Zehrunisa is prepared to pay for the private hospital for Fatima on her own, without going through a middleman.

In prison Abdul remembers a movie he saw about a prison escapee and begins fantasizing about being released. Free from the daily constraints of hard labor for the first time, Abdul has time to consider his own life. Through hard work, he assumed he would eventually rise to a better life. He had not considered the interference of a deranged neighbor. After a phone call from Asha to the police station, the beatings stop.

In Annawadi a Muslim fakir arrives to offer blessings and drive away spirits. Kehkashan pays him for a good blessing, but Fatima’s husband sends him away—even though Kehkashan warns him that this will bring him bad luck. That night, Fatima dies. In the morning she returns to Annawadi in a box.

Fatima died of an infection, although her medical records were doctored to say that she was burned over 95% of her body (rather than a more accurate 35%). As the only other Muslim women in Annawadi, Zehrunisa and Kehkashan assume the responsibility of cleaning Fatima’s body for burial. Zehrunisa sobs, knowing that charges will now be brought against Karam and Abdul, and that Kehkashan will be arrested.

Fatima’s burial box is carried throughout the streets of Annawadi and out onto Airport Road, where life in Mumbai continues as normal.

Rain comes, increasing the size of the sewage lake and washing the paint-off stripes from Robert-the-deposed-slumlord’s fake zebras. Zehrunisa dons a burqa to talk to her Muslim relatives, hoping they will give her money for bail. In Abdul’s absence Mirchi takes over the family garbage business, which suffers under his inexpert knowledge. Despite her efforts, Zehrunisa lacks collateral for securing the bonds—all the paperwork for their assets is in her husband’s name, not hers. She and Karam argue when she visits him in jail, and the time in confinement has worsened his lung condition. Stress mounts as Zehrunisa considers what to sell next, how to navigate the prison system, and how to help Mirchi with the garbage business.

Zehrunisa is only confident about one decision: to have false papers made for Abdul that state he is 16 years old. She isn’t sure of his exact age but places him closer to 18. With his new papers, Abdul is transferred out of the Arthur Road Jail that holds actual criminals and into a children’s detention center in Dongri. A newspaper has recently exposed horrific conditions in Dongri, so Abdul arrives at a time of improvement. He sleeps on a tile floor, is forced to bathe daily—something he is unused to—and is fed terrible food. Most of the time, the detainees at Dongri do nothing at all, a situation that nearly drives Abdul insane. He considers confessing to beating Fatima just to be released—on advice from his fellow detainees. Most of the other children in Dongri have been arrested for working, which is a violation of India’s child labor laws. Even within Dongri, a physician tries to extort money from Abdul, claiming that if Abdul does not pay him 2,000 rupees, the doctor will report Abdul as an adult. Eventually he relents and does not report Abdul.

One day, a teacher called the Master is brought in to talk to the boys at Dongri. The Master tells stories about criminal boys and sheds genuine tears for them, which causes the inmates to cry too. For the first time in his life, Abdul is inspired by something, and although he was a hard worker and honorable before his time in prison, he now resolves to be even more so when he returns to Annawadi. He will not buy anything that was stolen. Also, he will not lie—which includes making a false confession regarding the death of Fatima.