Thakur Bhanu Pratap Singh Amitabh Bachchan stands as the pillar of the Sooryavansham family and the respected sarpanch of Bharatpur, a village he serves with unwavering dedication, caring for the people of his own land and eighteen neighboring villages. He lives in a grand mansion with his wife Sharda Jayasudha and his three sons—Karan, Varun Rajesh Khattar, and Heera Amitabh Bachchan. The youngest son, Heera, is illiterate and treated like a servant, kept away from family matters and relegated to menial tasks. Despite this, Heera loves his father deeply and finds affection mainly from his mother and from his close confidant Mindra, a servant in the household who is always there for him, along with Dharmendra Anupam Kher, a friend in the staff.
Days before the wedding of Bhanupratap’s daughter, the groom arrives with his sister Radha Soundarya. Misunderstood at first, Radha mistakes Heera for a servant and has him running errands, and on the wedding day she is stunned to learn that Heera is Bhanupratap’s son. Curious, she asks Mindra to tell her about Heera’s past.
As a child, Heera struggled in school but kept visiting Gauri Rachana Banerjee, a girl Bhanupratap had adopted after her parents’ death. When a teacher beat Gauri, Heera quit his own studies to shield her. Believing that Heera’s presence would hamper Gauri’s education, Bhanupratap sent her to a boarding school. Years later, Bhanupratap arranged their arranged marriage, but Gauri, now wary of marrying an illiterate man, attempted suicide. Heera saved her and claimed he had refused the marriage. Bhanupratap misread this and believed Heera harbored lust for Gauri, deepening the rift between father and son. Gauri later married a wealthy man.
Moved by Heera’s story, Radha proposes marriage to him, and he accepts. Meanwhile, Deshraj Thakur [Mukesh Rishi], another zamindar in Bharatpur, schemes to ruin Bhanupratap’s family by arranging Radha’s marriage to his own son Arjun [Imran Khan]. Deshraj’s plan would force Radha’s lawyer father to act in Deshraj’s favor. Radha’s mother approves the alliance and pressures Bhanupratap to separate Radha from Heera, while Bhanupratap gives Heera an ultimatum: marry Radha or win back his father’s respect.
Encouraged by Mindra, Heera chooses Radha. On the wedding day, he elopes with her, and Bhanupratap disowns him. Heera and Radha settle in Mindra’s house on the village outskirts. Heera works as a labourer in a transport company before borrowing money from Radha’s uncle, Ranjeet, to start his own transport business, naming the company after his father. In time Heera becomes wealthy and respected, and Radha clears the UPSC exams to become an IAS officer. The couple have a son, Sonu, named after Heera’s father, and Bhanupratap’s hatred of Heera lingers despite his rise.
Heera later fulfills his father’s dream of building a hospital for the poor. At the inauguration, he publicly credits Bhanupratap for pushing him toward self-reliance, a gesture Bhanupratap overhears, waking a tangle of guilt and hope. While reconsidering his actions, Bhanupratap meets his grandson Sonu outside school and begins secretly spending time with him. Learning of this, Heera asks Sonu to give some kheer to his “friend” the next time they meet. Sharda pleads with Bhanupratap to reconcile with Heera. Bhanupratap, meanwhile, phones his son, but coughing blood he collapses and is hospitalized, and Deshraj accuses Heera of poisoning the kheer.
Deshraj’s men assault Heera, but Bhanupratap recovers and comes to his son’s aid. He reveals that the kheer was poisoned by Deshraj himself, and together they fight Deshraj’s men until the culprit confesses. In the end, the family is reunited, and Bhanupratap embraces Heera in front of all their relatives, symbolizing forgiveness, resilience, and the enduring ties of family.