Naive and easily impressionable Vidya Bhalla would like her husband to be a dashing hero, one who is not afraid of anybody, one who can easily jump into a fire to rescue someone, one who is strong and romantic. She sees all of these qualities in Shiva Sathe, the son of Constable Purushottam Sathe, whose only dream is to see Shiva become a Police Inspector. Vidya informs her father, Prithviraj Bhalla, that she has found her dream man; the Bhallas and the Sathes meet and get the couple formally engaged.
Then Purushottam arrests the son of a MLA and as a result he is transferred to the notorious Kala Chowki Police Station in Bombay. Upon arrival, he finds out that the Inspector in charge of the Police Station, Saini, has been severely beaten-up by don Billa Jilani and is hospitalized. Purushottam arranges for his entire family to relocate.
The story takes a new twist. Shiva's brother-in-law approaches Prithviraj and informs him that Shiva has become an underworld don, after beating-up Billa Jilani, and now takes haftas and bribes. Prithviraj finds that Shiva has become a ruffian, and been arrested a number of times, much to the chagrin of his father. Prithviraj breaks off the alliance and informs Purushottam. Shortly thereafter, another fight breaks out and this time Shiva is arrested, held in a cell for several days, beaten up by his father and subsequently bailed out by a woman named Shanti. Eventually, Shiva kills Billa. The film ends with Purushottam declaring to Inspector Saini, that Shiva cannot be recommended to be an inspector, since in the eyes of the law he is a criminal. Shiva's photo is shown on the criminal's display board and credits roll.
Mukul Kesavan from the magazine Manushi lauded Gardish as "a powerful, affecting film"[3]The Indian Express praised the film's "script, vivid characters and powerful dialogues" and noted the actors' performances.[4]Anurag Mathur of The Sunday Telegraph was critical of the film, dismissing it as "not even a film, but a series of action sequences strung together by guest appearances", although he singled out Kapadia for "excelling" in her part.[5]India Today wrote, "Perhaps the best film to be churned out by the Hindi film factory this year. Jackie plays a would-be-inspector unwittingly embroiled in the world of crime. Puri is his helpless havildar father. The direction is deft and cinematography fabulous. Puri, after a long stint at uninteresting villain roles, gets to show his mettle. But the film belongs to the dazed and confused Jackie, who has done full justice to the role."[6]
