Widower Shankar lives a middle-class lifestyle in India with daughters Sudha and Guddiya and son Rakesh, and makes a living working as a bank cashier. He is very friendly with his neighbor Karim, who lives by himself. Sudha has fallen in love with Captain Deepak Verma, a pilot, the only child of widower Colonel Verma, and he arranges their marriage. Before even the engagement can take place, Shankar confesses to stealing 10,000 rupees from the bank to help a deserving customer; he is arrested, tried in Court, and sentenced to 3 years in jail. He is then subsequently transferred to a jail in Nasik but keeps in touch with his children by writing letters through Karim. Karim takes it upon himself to assist this family, but the earnings are not enough and Sudha and Rakesh find employment. Guddiya gets intimate with Babloo and gets pregnant, resulting in a hasty marriage. Then Rakesh falls in love with his boss' daughter Kalpana and marries her. Now Sudha's marriage is set for March, 5, 1982, the very day Shankar is supposed to be discharged from jail. None of the family know that the shock and horror that await them, especially Sudha, just before that crucial date.