Pratap Tilak (Nana Patekar) is the grandson of Bheeshmanarayan Tilak, a freedom fighter. Pratap starts gambling and this leads to an attack on Bheeshmanarayan as he dies. Pratap's mother Durgadevi (Farida Jalal) enraged by this, asks him to leave the village and go far away. Pratap comes to Mumbai where he saves the life of chawl owner, Laxminath's (Paresh Rawal) son Atul (Atul Agnihotri). Laxminath decides to keep Pratap with him. When they grow up, Atul falls in love with Mamta (Mamta Kulkarni), who is the daughter of a builder named Yograj (Tinnu Anand). Pratap keeps laughing at press reporter Megha Dixit (Dimple Kapadia), who lives in the chawl and keeps on fighting injustice by writing about it in newspapers. Pratap teaches people to become strong and fight for themselves instead of waiting for other people to help them. Chattursingh Chita (Danny Denzongpa) and Yograj plan to build a resort and at the place, they arrange communal riots, mass killings, and burn the houses of people. Laxminath is murdered by Chita. Pratap learns that Megha's parents were murdered by Chita and she was raped by him. He proposes marriage to her. Mamta leaves her father's house and comes to Atul's house. Pratap kills the corrupt ministers, the judge, and the police officer. He is tried in court and sentenced to death. At the public hanging, he tells the onlookers that they are all cowards and he is willing to die, when a lawyer comes to the scene informing that Pratap has been pardoned by the President. Chita emerges to kill Pratap who picks a rifle and kills Chita with the bayonet.