In a village in Rajasthan, Durga Singh [Rakhee Gulzar], a poor widow, raises her two beloved sons Karan Singh [Salman Khan] and Arjun Singh [Shah Rukh Khan]. Durga’s husband was the Thakur Sangram Singh’s son, a marriage kept secret from his father, and Durjan Singh [Amrish Puri], a relative of the Thakur, killed him to keep the family from inheriting the estate. When Durga learns that the Thakur plans to sign over the estate to Karan Singh and Arjun Singh, Durjan kills Thakur, then brutally murders Karan and Arjun with his brothers-in-law Nahar Singh [Arjun] and Shamsher Singh [Jack Gaud]. Durga, overwhelmed by loss, turns to devotion and prays to Goddess Kali to bring her sons back. Miraculously, her prayers are heard and the brothers are reincarnated, but they are separated and raised in different families, utterly unaware of their past lives. Durga remains unaware of the miracle, yet she clings to the steadfast belief that her sons will return.
Twenty years pass. Arjun, now reborn as Vijay [Shah Rukh Khan], falls in love with the wealthy Sonia Saxena [Kajol], who loves him back, though her wedding is arranged with Durjan’s son Suraj [Aasif Sheikh]. Meanwhile, Karan, reborn as Ajay [Salman Khan], starts working for Govind—Sonia’s father and Durjan’s partner in his illegal arms trade. A tomboyish girl named Bindiya [Mamta Kulkarni], who is secretly in love with Ajay, shadows his steps. Knowing Sonia’s heart belongs to Vijay, Suraj decides to end the romance by force, but Vijay fights back and escapes the trap. Ajay is then sent to kill Vijay; the two clash in a tense duel that is interrupted by a sudden bolt of lightning, a moment that echoes the past they share.
Govind tries to shoot Vijay, but Ajay stops him, shouting for Vijay to run, a line that carries a weight from their unfinished past. The confrontation results in Ajay’s imprisonment while Vijay escapes. Sonia is forcibly taken to Durjan’s house to marry Suraj, but fate begins to twist again. Vijay, with his loyal friend Linghaiyya, advances to rescue Sonia, and in a stunning revelation, they are recognized by all as Arjun—whose memory returns in full. Durga is finally reunited with her sons, and she learns the truth: her two boys were once brothers named Karan and Arjun and are now Ajay and Vijay.
Bindiya joins the growing family, while Durjan struggles to accept the miraculous return. Nahar Singh and Shamsher Singh attempt to fetch the brothers, but are killed by Ajay and Vijay in a mirror-image fate of their past sins. The brothers’ presence terrifies Durjan as they insist they truly are back and ready to expose the old wrongs. Govind and Durjan fall out, and Govind urges Sonia to flee with Vijay, only to trap her in a cruel ruse. Amid the ensuing chaos, Ajay and Vijay outmaneuver their enemies, Suraj is killed by Vijay, and Durjan is slain by Durga’s orders after a furious reckoning.
In the final turning, the two brothers, now united with their families, reclaim their happiness: Vijay marries Sonia Saxena, and Ajay weds Bindiya. The once-fractured clans come together, and Durga’s faith is rewarded as the clan’s past is laid to rest and a new, hopeful future begins.
