THE FAME GAME is the story of the disappearance of a movie star. Anamika Anand (Madhuri Dixit) is one of the celebrated actresses of Bollywood. At one time, she ruled the silver screen. Now in her 40s, her popularity has slightly eroded as the younger lot of actors started getting prominence. She is married to Nikhil More (Sanjay Khanna) and she’s a mother of Amara (Muskkaan Jaferi) and Avinash aka Avi (Lakshvir Singh Saran).
Her mother (Suhasini Mulay) and a helper, Lata (Shubhangi Latkar), also reside with Anamika in her palatial residence. Her mother has always dictated every move of Anamika. She’s the one who pushed her into becoming an actress as her mother realized that if Anamika becomes a movie star, their fortunes would change. Shockingly, her mother also gets her married to Nikhil, who’s actually her long-lost cousin, much against the wishes of Anamika.
In the present day, Nikhil handles all her finances and they decide to produce a film, starring Anamika in the lead role. An actor named Ajay (Indraneil Sengupta) is signed opposite Anamika. However, she realizes that both don’t share a chemistry. She expresses a desire to replace Ajay with Manish Khanna (Manav Kaul). Their pair at one point was the most loved. They also briefly dated 20 years ago. Manish is a loner and he decides to sign the film when Anamika and Nikhil request him to come on board.
As they reunite professionally, the love for each other also reignites. Meanwhile, Anamika is facing a crisis back home. She realizes that Nikhil and her mother have made a mess of the finances. Both Avi and Amara are also struggling due to personal problems.
Avi even attempts suicide. One day, Anamika attends an award show. After returning home, she mysteriously disappears. None of her family members has a clue as to where she’s vanished. ACP Shobha Trivedi (Rajshri Deshpande) is assigned the case. During interrogation, all of them have crucial information related to Anamika’s disappearance. However, they all hide it for their ulterior motives. Fans and media meanwhile go on a rampage, speculating as to whether Anamika has been kidnapped or something worse has happened to her. What happens next forms the rest of the series.