Savitri lives a poor lifestyle in Bombay along with her husband, Ramdas; a collegian daughter, Sita, and a polio-stricken son, Ganesh. Ramdas is about to retire and goes to speak with the General Manager to extend his term of employment, but is turned down. Shortly thereafter he returns home with a wound on his head and a young woman, who he says is his daughter, Ganga, and asks Savitri to look after her. He is subsequently admitted in hospital but passes away a few days later. Thereafter family are evicted and go to live in a shanty room. Ganga pawns her jewelery, then gets a job, and looks after them all. When Ganga finds out that Sita has a boyfriend in Vijay, her fellow-collegian, she goes to meet his brother, Lal Dandhwani, at Vijay's birthday party - and it is this visit that will open up a Pandora's box changing everyone's lives forever.