Young Krishna's mother abandons him at the Apollo Circus and informs him that he can only return home when he can afford 500 rupees to pay for his brother's bicycle that he destroyed. The circus then leaves Krishna behind and he takes a train to Bombay, where he works delivering tee for Chacha's street bar and being called "Chaipau" by the local street children. He befriends heroin addict and drug dealer Chillum, and young Manju Golub, the daughter of Baba Golub and prostitute Rekha Golub. Krishna dreams of saving 500 rupees to return home, but Bombay street life isn't easy.
Salaam Bombay!
Young Krishna struggles to survive among the drug dealers, pimps, and prostitutes in the back alleys and gutters of India.
