What follows is not just a fight between a husband and a wife, but a war against tradition, superstition, and patriarchal stupidity. Keshav must fight his own father (a religious zealot who believes toilets are "impure"), the village panchayat, and the bureaucratic red tape that makes building a simple latrine a Herculean task.
In reality, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the film in his Mann Ki Baat radio address, acknowledging its role in spreading awareness about sanitation. The film’s bold claim—that a girl would refuse a millionaire groom without a toilet—has, according to several NGO reports, actually shifted the matrimonial parameters in rural India. Today, "Toilet" is a check-box in many arranged marriage profiles, a fact directly influenced by this movie.
The movie follows (Akshay Kumar), a man from a traditional village near Mathura, who falls in love with and marries Jaya (Bhumi Pednekar), a well-educated woman. Their marriage hits a major roadblock on the very first morning when Jaya discovers that Keshav’s home lacks a basic toilet.