There are two parallel stories that run through the film Masaan (the colloquial term for Shamshaan or a burning ghat). They are studies in contrast. The first protagonist Devi (played by Richa Chadha) is a girl who is seeking a release from the clutches of a greedy cop and from being judged because of a personal choice she made.The other story belongs to Deepak Choudhary (played brilliantly by Vicky Kaushal) is set on the famous Harishchandra Ghat of Banaras. The son of the dom (the people who cremate the dead) wants to escape the chains that his being born in that family limits him to. He dreams of being an engineer and stumbles upon love.