Jacob Petersen manages an Indian orphanage. With a small staff, he works as hard as he can to keep the orphanage afloat and is personally invested in the young charges—particularly Pramod, whom he has cared for since his birth. The orphanage has been in danger of collapse for eight years and faces bankruptcy. A Danish corporation offers a substantial donation to maintain the orphanage if Jacob returns to Denmark, where he grew up, to receive the donation in person. Apparently the CEO, Jørgen Hannson, wishes to meet Jacob. Upset when he learns that Jacob must travel to Copenhagen, Pramod insists that he return for Pramod's birthday, which is in eight days. Jacob departs for Denmark; once there he's greeted by a driver and a young man named Christian and checked into a luxurious suite paid for by the corporation. Jacob meets with Jørgen, who says he's still considering which project to fund. This surprises Jacob, who had understood that the decision was already made. Christian is marrying Jørgen's daughter Anna and Jørgen invites Jacob to the wedding. During the ceremony, Jørgen's wife Helene notices Jacob. They are formally introduced during the reception, but not for the first time: 20 years earlier, she was the love of his life, but he was unfaithful with her best friend and they broke up. During Anna's speech at the marriage festivities, Jacob learns that she isn't Jørgen's biological daughter; his suspicion that she might be his own is confirmed by Helene the next day. Jacob is angry to just be learning this now. Helene claims that they'd tried to track him down in India. She is compelled to tell Anna about Jacob; the two meet and get along well, if slightly awkwardly. Jørgen stalls the negotiations relating to funding, which distresses Jacob because of his promise to return for Pramod's birthday. Jacob attempts to explain, but the disappointed Pramod cuts the phone call short. Jørgen discloses that he will create a foundation in Jacob and Anna's names and fund it with a large sum of money. One of the conditions of the contract would be that Jacob must live in Denmark. At first Jacob cannot comply, thinking of Pramod and the other children who have been part of his life for so long; he also resents the implication that he could be bought by Jørgen. When Jacob storms out, Jørgen runs after him and admits the real motivation: he is terminally ill. Jørgen had brought Jacob to Denmark so he could care for Anna and Helene, as well as Jørgen's twin sons Morten and Martin. Angered at this deception, Jacob hastily leaves for his hotel room. Later, Anna arrives distressed because she has just discovered Christian with another woman. Jacob comforts her, realizing his need for her in his life. He signs the contract with Jørgen with the conditions intact. Jørgen dies. On Jacob's next visit to India, construction work at the orphanage is well underway. Jacob invites Pramod to come to Denmark to live with him, but partly because Jacob used to rail against the rich, Pramod decides to stay in his home country.
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 104 reviews, and an average rating of 7.42/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The cast brings After the Weddings melodramatic script to life, creating a movie that is emotionally raw and satisfying." Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Time magazine's Richard Schickel named the film one of the Top 10 Movies of 2007, ranking it at #4, calling it a "dark, richly mounted film". While Schickel saw the film as possibly "old-fashioned stylistically, and rather manipulative in its plotting", he also saw "something deeply satisfying in the way it works out the fates of its troubled, yet believable characters."
In February 2018, actress Julianne Moore and writer-director husband Bart Freundlich announced plans to remake After the Wedding for an English-speaking audience, taking place in New York and India. Actress Michelle Williams will star alongside Moore. Production began in late spring of 2018. The remake premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2019 and was theatrically released on August 9, 2019.
