Naranappa, a man born in the community of Madhwa (A community of Brahmins from Karnataka) is dead in the Agrahara of the village Durvasapura. As per the Madhwa customs, the last rites of the dead man has to be performed at the earliest. But, Naranappa was a rebel who fought against Brahminism, who ate meat, consumed liquor and also, married a Dasi (a prostitute). Since, he doesn't have any family, there is some confusion as to who will do the last rites and fire the funeral pyre. Praneshacharya, the head of the Agrahara, a devout and learned Brahmin, is tasked with providing the solution.

Coming from a poor and destitute family, Urvashi is encouraged by her mother, Shanta (Sualbha Deshpande) to be on more than friendly terms with a much older male, Keshav Dalvi (Amol Palekar). Keshav takes a liking to young Urvashi, and encourages her to explore her talents in films, which she does, and does gain popularity, starting as a singer, than accomplishing herself as an actress/singer. She decides to marry Keshav, only to be discouraged by her own mother, but she is strong-willed, and does marry him. She has a baby girl after the marriage, but feels stifled and oppressed with Keshav, and has affairs with her co-star Rajan (Anant Nag), a film producer, Sunil Verma (Naseeruddin Shah), but ends up dissatisfied. Then she meets wealthy Vinayak Kale (Amrish Puri), and decides to settle down with him, little knowing that he is already married to another woman, and also has a son. By the time she finds out it is too late, she has already been accepted in his household, and any woman, whether his own mother(Dina Pathak), his present handicapped wife, and even Urvashi have to follow the rules laid down - no women can leave the house under any circumstances, except after death.

A rural drama about the rivalry between two villages as seen through the eyes of a young boy, Kitti.