In Calcutta, a group of labourers is demolishing the ruins of an old haveli. When the workers break for lunch, the overseer walks around the site. As he sits, a flashback to the late 19th century begins.
The lower-class yet educated Atulya "Bhoothnath" Chakraborty arrives in the colonial Calcutta looking for work. Along with his brother-in-law, he lives in the haveli of the Choudhury zamindar family. Bhoothnath meets Subinay, a dedicated member of the religious sect Brahmo Samaj, and the owner of the factory Mohini Sindoor. Subinay's daughter Jabba hears their conversation and is amused by the behaviour of Bhoothnath, whom she considers an unsophisticated rural dweller. Over time, the two develop an attraction to each other. Bhoothnath becomes fascinated with the goings-on in the haveli and every night he observes the Choudhury brothers' decadent lifestyle.
One night, Bansi, another servant at the haveli, introduces Bhoothnath to the younger zamindar’s wife, Chhoti Bahu. She pleads with him to bring her some Mohini sindoor, believing it will help mend her strained marriage to Chhote Babu, who spends most of his time with a dancing girl. Moved by her sorrow, Bhoothnath unintentionally becomes her secret confidant. When her efforts to win back her husband’s affection fail, she begins drinking with him in a bid to keep him close.
In the meanwhile, Subinay falls ill and closes the factory as he is unable to manage it due to his ill health. He also fixes Jabba's marriage to Supavitra, who is also a Brahmo Samaj member. Learning about this, a heartbroken Bhoothnath leaves from there. He becomes a trainee architect and is assigned to work on a project in a different town.
A few months later, he comes back to enquire on his mentor Subinay's health, and learns that he has succumbed to his illness. After the death of Subinay, Jabba breaks her engagement to Supavitra. Bhoothnath also discovers that long ago he and Jabba were betrothed as children.
When Bhootnath visits the haveli, he sees it has been partially ruined and the Choudhurys have fallen on bad times. Chhoti Bahu is now a desperate alcoholic and her husband is paralysed. He chastises her on her drinking and they have an argument. Their conversation is overheard by the elder zamindar Majhle Babu, who suspects Chhoti Bahu is having an affair with Bhoothnath.
One night, when Chhoti Bahu asks Bhoothnath to accompany her to a nearby shrine to pray for her husband; Majhle Babu orders his henchmen to chase them. Bhoothnath and Chhoti Bahu travel in a carriage, but Majhle Babu's henchmen stop it. Bhoothnath is knocked unconscious and Chhoti Bahu is abducted. When he wakes up in the hospital, Bansi tells Bhoothnath that Chhoti Bahu has disappeared and her husband is dead.
The flashback ends. Bhoothnath's workers inform him a skeleton has been found in the ruins of the haveli. From the jewellery on the corpse, Bhoothnath realises it is the remains of Chhoti Bahu. In the last scene, a nostalgic Bhoothnath rides away in a carriage with Jabba, who is now his wife.
Guru Dutt wanted to adapt Bimal Mitra's novel Saheb Bibi Golam (1953) into a film after reading it and watching its staged version at Rang Mahal Theatre, Calcutta, with his wife Geeta, Mitra, and Abrar Alvi. This marked the novel's second cinematic adaptation after the 1956 version. The novel was written in and never translated from Bengali. Dutt asked Alvi to write a screenplay; according to Alvi, he was surprised Dutt gave him the offer because Dutt had previously discharged him from his company Guru Dutt Movies Pvt. Ltd.
Legacy
"It must have been in 1961 or 1962. I don’t remember the exact date, but it was during the filming of the final scene in Sahib Bibi [Aur Ghulam]. Jabba is waiting for Bhoothnath in a carriage in the haveli ruins. That was the last time we worked together. He never offered me another role after Sahib Bibi [Aur Ghulam]."
Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam attained cult status and became a milestone in Hindi cinema. Along with Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), critics have regarded Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam among Dutt's best work.
