A fight erupts at the neighborhood's main water tap, and Minni and Sanjay rush home to avoid the chaos.

At dinner, the father announces the annual water supply is critically low and the family may soon need to buy water.

While riding in Ram's Mercedes near the railroad tracks, the children spot a tanker secretly stealing water from municipal pipes.

The water mafia boss chases Sanjay and Amit back toward the car as a train rushes past the tracks.

Fearing mafia retaliation, the families decide to send Sanjay and Amit to a relative's farm in Delhi to hide.

Rohini falls ill with repeated stomach symptoms and the doctor advises her to leave Mumbai to rest in the countryside.

Minni begins her first day as a servant at Anita's wealthy household, stepping into her absent mother's job.

Pinky's grandmother catches Minni and Pinky playing cards together and humiliates Minni with cruel classist insults.

Shanti announces that Rohini secretly entered Minni's name in a raffle, and Minni has won the free computer class spot.

After repeated late arrivals, the school principal rules that Minni will be barred from class on any day she is late.

Ravi is found dead in a gutter, and Ram tells Minni's father that the mafia likely murdered him for trying to leave.

Minni recognizes Pinky's father as the water mafia boss while serving dinner and drops her bowl of pudding in shock.

While police officers at the tea shop are distracted by the neighborhood dog, Minni slips a photo labeled 'water thief' into an officer's bag.

Police cars and news cameras surround Anita's apartment building as Pinky's father is escorted out in handcuffs and arrested.

Minni takes her final school exam and passes, securing her path to eighth grade despite all the obstacles she faced.

Minni and her brother Sanjay live in a Mumbai slum where drinking water is scarce and fights at the water tap are a constant threat. After accidentally witnessing the water mafia stealing from municipal pipes, Sanjay is forced into hiding on a Delhi farm, leaving Minni to shoulder the family's burdens alone. When Rohini falls ill and leaves for the countryside, Minni must take over her mother's servant job at a wealthy household while trying to keep up with school. She is nearly crushed by these compounding responsibilities, but community support keeps her going long enough to make a stunning discovery: her employer's husband is the very mafia boss who threatened her brother. With Faiza's help, Minni anonymously tips off the police, leading to the boss's arrest and the restoration of some justice for her neighborhood. With the crisis resolved, Minni passes her final exam and her family finds new paths forward.

The central story of water theft, family crisis, and Minni's fight for justice.

Minni and Sanjay sit on a hill overlooking Mumbai harbor and dream aloud about escaping poverty through their future careers.

Rohini reveals over dinner that her wealthy employer, Anita, is secretly funding Minni's private school education.

Neighborhood storyteller Shanti gathers children beneath a banyan tree and recounts Mumbai's history as a colonial dowry gift.

Sanjay's friend Amit invites the group for a joyride in the luxury Mercedes his Uncle Ram drives as a chauffeur.

Ram angrily scolds Sanjay and Amit for recklessly approaching the water mafia tanker instead of staying safely in the car.

Minni runs into Ravi at a local shop and he seems to recognize her, making her too afraid to speak.

Before leaving for the countryside, Rohini teaches Minni to make roti so she can take over the job at Anita's house.

Minni struggles to collect and boil the day's water in time for school; Faiza waits outside and shares her own lunch.

The practice exam results are poor, and Miss Shah offers to grade Minni's test that same evening and shares her sandwich with her.

Unable to reach school, Minni spends the day joining Latika on her route selling magazines to pedestrians on the street.

Latika makes Minni promise to attend school the next day and offers to fill a bucket of water for her in the morning.

Miss Shah offers Minni free after-school tutoring sessions and advises her to boil water at night to free up morning time.

Minni and Faiza call a police tipline to report the water mafia boss, but the officers dismiss them for being too young.

A doctor informs Minni that Rohini's illness has been diagnosed as Hepatitis A and is fully curable with a single vaccine.

Sanjay tells Minni he has decided to stay in Delhi, where a local chef has offered him a restaurant apprenticeship.

The story of Minni's struggle begins in the close-knit community of a Mumbai slum, where big dreams are nurtured despite scarce resources and a colonial history of dispossession. When Sanjay's reckless curiosity gets him sent away for safety, Minni begins to notice how the water mafia's presence shapes every corner of neighborhood life. Rohini's illness sets off a chain of hardship, forcing Minni into adult labor while trying to maintain her education, and the gap between her world and Pinky's wealthy household grows ever more glaring. Community members like Latika, Miss Shah, and Faiza step in at critical moments, each demonstrating how mutual support can counter systemic deprivation. Through their help, Minni gathers the courage and evidence to act against the water mafia's leader, and the aftermath brings change to every member of her family. The resolution offers not just justice, but a vision of new beginnings built on community, ambition, and self-determination.

Community life, the ripple effects of the water crisis, and the people who help Minni survive it.

Minni's father warns the family to stay out of neighborhood trouble by reciting his guiding 'see no evil, hear no evil, say no evil' proverb.

Against Ram's direct orders, Sanjay and Amit exit the parked car to get a closer look at the suspicious water tanker.

Sanjay and Amit return to the car and reveal that their neighbor Ravi is one of the water mafia workers at the tanker.

After Rohini's departure, a frightened Minni seeks out Shanti for advice, and Shanti reassures her that the community has always held firm.

Minni enters Anita's marble-floored luxury apartment for the first time and is overwhelmed by the stark contrast with her own home.

Anita rejects Minni's roti as subpar on her very first day, and Minni fears she will cost Rohini her job.

Faiza confronts Minni and admits she has felt completely forgotten and ignored since all of Minni's new responsibilities took over her life.

Minni and Pinky bond by quizzing each other before their exams, and Pinky reveals her father is almost never home.

Alone and overwhelmed by missed school days, Minni writes a desperate poem that ends with the question 'What is going to become of me?'

Latika confides to Minni that she was forced out of school permanently because her learning disability went completely unsupported by her teachers.

Over the phone, Sanjay tells Minni he now fully understands the danger he was in and is glad he was sent away before Ravi's fate.

During a computer class brainstorm, Minni asks her teacher whether it would be possible to build an app for sending anonymous tips to the police.

In Pinky's room, Minni makes a split-second decision to steal one family photo of Pinky's father to use as evidence against him.

Rohini returns home from the countryside and the whole neighborhood gathers at the family's tea shop to celebrate her recovery.

Rohini announces she will start her own roti business rather than return to working as a servant in a wealthy family's home.

Minni's coming-of-age journey in Thirst is shaped by a series of pivotal decisions and discoveries that challenge her childhood assumptions at every turn. Her father's 'see no evil' philosophy is tested almost immediately when Sanjay stumbles into danger by investigating the water mafia's tanker, setting off the story's central crisis. As Rohini's absence strips away Minni's safety net, she is forced to confront the adult realities of poverty, domestic labor, and injustice far earlier than any child should have to. Emotional reckonings with Faiza, her computer class, and her fraught friendship with Pinky push Minni to grow in both empathy and resourcefulness. The moment she recognizes Pinky's father as the mafia boss becomes the story's decisive turning point, transforming her from passive sufferer into active agent of justice. Her courage, backed by the community around her, converts each hardship into a step toward justice and a new future for her entire family.

The key decisions, discoveries, and emotional shifts that define Minni's coming-of-age.