Suraj Bhandari (Farooq Shaikh) is the well-mannered and obedient son of Kailash and Kamla Bhandari. Theirs is an affluent upper-class family. The household is fiercely dominated by Kamla (Bindu) who wants her eldest son to marry a girl whose social status matches theirs.
However, contrary to her wishes Suraj follows his heart and marries the not so rich, yet talented village belle Shalu (Rekha) which infuriates Kamla to no end. Together with her comical, but scheming secretary (Asrani), Kamla vows to throw her out of the house with their shrewd and cunning tactics deployed against her.
Meanwhile Shalu tries to be a dutiful daughter-in-law by trying to win the heart of Kamla. She has the full support and understanding of her father-in-law, (the hen-pecked husband of Kamla) Kailash Bhandari (Kader Khan) who treats her like a daughter, and of her young brother-in-law Vicky (Salman Khan), who sometimes cannot bear the atrocities meted out to his sister-in-law and gets vocal in protests against his tyrannical mother.
After endless attempts at humiliation and personal attacks, Shalu hits back in her style and her true identity is revealed towards the climax. She shocks everyone with her diction and articulate speech in sharp contrast to her crude village belle identity.
Her father Ashok Mehra (a family friend of the Bhandaris) reveals her true identity. Kamla learns that Shalu is the Oxford-educated daughter of Mehra, who, in connivance with Kamla's husband Kailash, had won her way into the family, in order to teach her a lesson in humility and humanity. Kailash gets vocal against his wife for the first time.
Kamla realises her error and repents of her behaviour towards the family when they all decide to leave her and the house. Kamla sincerely apologises to all and happiness finally enters the Bhandari household.