| 1 | | | Mumbai, India - JUNE 2004 |
| | Aai | | Tara's mother. |
| | Mukta | | A village girl from the lower caste of Yellemma. |
| | Pravin | Godbole | A senior police inspector. |
| | Tara | | A spirited young woman from the upper class. |
| | Brian | | Tara's fiancé. |
| | Amma | | Mukta's mother. |
| 2 | | | Village of Ganipur, India - 1986 |
| | Sakubai | | Mukta's grandmother. |
| | Yellemma | | A Hindu goddess. |
| | Madam | | Sakubai's friend. |
| 3 | | | 2004 |
| | Meena-ji | | Aai's friend. |
| | Anupam chacha | | Navin's father. |
| | Navin | | Tara's best friend. |
| | Ashok | Deshmukh | Tara's father. |
| | Dharam | Deo | Owner of a Private Detective Agency. |
| | Abdul | | One of Tara's acquaintances. |
| | Shobha | | One of Tara's acquaintances. |
| 4 | Ashok | Sahib | Zamindar's son. |
| 5 | Mr. | Chitale | NGO's senior officer. |
| | Aram | | Tara's acquaintance. |
| 9 | Memsahib | | Aai's alias. |
| | Emperor | Akbar | Mughal Emperor. |
| 12 | | | 2004 |
| | Raza | | One of Tara's acquaintances. |
| | Salim | | One of tara's acquaintances. |
| 13 | Elisa | | Tara's good friend. |
| | Pete | | Elisa's fiancé. |
| 14 | Rajni | | One of the servants. |
| 15 | | | 2004 |
| | | Chavan | A police inspector. |
| 16 | | | Kamathipura, Mumbai - 1993 |
| | Jasmine | | One of Mukta's acquaintances. |
| | Neerja | | One of Mukta's acquaintances. |
| 17 | | | 2004 |
| | Rohan | | Navin's son. |
| | Scheherazade | | The storyteller in One Thousand and One Nights. |
| | Eudora | Welty | An American short story writer. |
| | Patti | Smith | American singer-songwriter. |
| | Mark | Twain | American writer. |
| | Jane | Austen | An English novelist. |
| | Rumi | | A Persian poet. |
| | Frank | | Elisa's boyfriend. |
| 18 | Aaheli | | One of Mukta's acquaintances. |
| | Rani | | One of Mukta's acquaintances. |
| | Sylvia | | Mukta's friend. Aka: Sylvie. |
| 19 | Chandru | | A driver. |
| | Karuna | | Real name of Tara's mother. |
| | Malkin | | Tara's grandmother. Aka: Ajji. |
| | Shyam | | A servant. |
| 20 | | | 1997 |
| | Sanjiv | | Mukta's acquaintance. |
| | Rabindranath | Tagore | A Bengali poet. |
| | Maya | | Mukta's acquaintance. |
| 21 | | | 2004 |
| | Najima | | Salim's wife. |
| 22 | | | 2003 |
| | Andrew | | A journalist. |
| | Arun | Sahib | Owner of the brothels. |
| 23 | Dinesh | | Raza's friend. |
| | Saira | | Dinesh's wife. |
| 24 | | | 2003 |
| | Asha | | Mukta's daughter. |
| 25 | | | 2006 |
| | Chottu | | A waiter. |
| | Dev | Sahib | Raza's acquaintance. |
| | Naima | | Raza's wife. |
| 26 | Vibha | | Navin's wife. |
| 29 | | | April 2009 |
| | Romesh | | Raza's friend. |
