Architect and Poet Salim Ahmed Salim lives in Nizamuddin, India, along with his widowed mother. He re-locates to Lucknow where he is employed with Shirazi & Company. He instructs her not to leave the house, and when she persists, he sells the house and decides to re-locate to Lahore, Pakistan. Salim attempts to stop them but Hamid assaults him and leaves him senseless. Salim does recover but takes to alcohol and a Courtesan named Phoolrani in a big way. His mother intervenes, and compels him to get married to their new neighbor's daughter, Sahira, which he reluctantly does. Now trapped in a marriage with a woman he does not love, Salim continues to frequent Phoolrani's brothel, with hopes of being re-united with his estranged sweetheart - only to find that the seemingly demure Sahira will not let go of him that easily.

Asha lives a poor lifestyle along with her widowed dad, is in love with aspiring doctor Raj Kumar, and hopes to marry him someday. When Raj announces that he is traveling abroad to study, she decides to wait for him, but her father, on his deathbed, makes her promise to marry Simla-based Gopal Chopra, who is the son of his friend, Shyamlal, to which Asha agrees. Gopal gets a promotion and re-locates to Bombay but continues to remain in touch with his family. Then the past is re-visited when Raj, now a doctor, comes to live in their neighborhood. Their idyllic lives are shattered when Raj is arrested for killing a man named Mangatram who was blackmailing Asha for hiding a secret from the rest of her family.

Anjali lives in a hostel and always waits for her mother Kamini to come take her during holidays but Kamini never takes Anjali home; instead she takes her on holidays to different places. Kamini pretends to be a wealthy woman in front of Anjali, but she actually works for the Bombay-based Don Sultanbhai--she conducts robberies for him. Anjali falls in love with Anand and both want to get their parents together, but at the last moment Kamini is called back to Bombay by Sultanbhai; this doesn't go over well with Anand's mother. Sultanbhai finds out from Kamini about Anjali and how life was cruel to her he promises Kamini that he will get Anjali married to Anand and makes a fake family out of his gang and present them in front of Anand's family.

Time is running out for Khushbu, Ravi Sharma(Sunil Dutt)'s daughter. Her leukemia can be cured only if someone's bone marrow matches her daughter so, he goes abroad and gets in touch with her former wife (Smita Patil).

Suhaagan is a story about two sisters Janaki and Jyoti who live with their Parents Jamnadas and their mother played by Tanuja. Ramu lives in the same village and makes living by farming. Ramu loves Janaki but Janaki is not that interested in Ramu because she is more attracted to Murli who is much more wealthy than Ramu. Jamnadas prefers Ramu as being Janaki's husband because he thinks he is a good person and will not ask for big dowry. Janaki get married to Ramu and that is when all the trouble starts.

A man tries to kill the man who influenced his wife into killing herself while under supervision.

Courtesan Madame Subbalaxmi heads a household where men are not born, but are welcome. Women are not welcome, but their birth is. Subbalaxmi is thrilled when her pet protege, Sangeeta, gives birth to a baby-girl, who they name Chandra. Shortly thereafter they relocate to a small community. Sangeeta wants Chandra to study, and she is allowed to do so. Chandra meets her neighbor, Kunal, and their family, and is welcomed by them. Problems arise, when Kunal and Chandra fall in love, as neither Kunal's family, nor Chandra's courtesan family will permit this marriage. Only time will tell if Chandra's fate is to be the same as other courtesans.

Rajeev falls in love with Roopa, a beautiful singer who hides the fact that half her face is disfigured. However, he soon discovers her secret after marriage and begins to ignore her.

Shyam an ambitious young man is in Mauritius to fulfill his dreams. He meets Rukmini, a millionaire's daughter. They fall in love and get married despite strong opposition from Rukmani's stepmother and brother. Shyam would love to be a father, but Rukmani undergoes an operation to stop any pregnancy, as she is least interested in becoming a mother. This widens the gap between the couple. Rukmini even suspects Shyam of having an illicit relationship with Radha, a librarian. Rukmini's stepmother and uncle, who have an eye on Rukmini's wealth, further fuel the misunderstanding to the point of breaking their marriage.

When a Police inspector is killed by a band of thugs, his grieving father Samsher Singh seeks justice. Pratap Singh has left behind a pregnant widow, who dies in chidbirth, leaving Samsher to bring up the child Kunal. The transformation of Samsher Singh (a locomotive engine driver) into Sobhraj, multi millionaire and owner of a vast network of business. Kunal is brought up by Abu Baba, a servant of Sobhraj to be honest, upright, and very independent minded. Durga, the daughter of a former employee of Sobhraj, who is serving time and Kunal fall in love. This not acceptable to his grandfather, though Abu Baba approves of the relationship. Disaster strikes when an attempt is made to separate the lovers. The life of Samsher Singh alias Sobhraj begins to unravel from here. How Kunal's ethical upbringing by his foster-father, and his financial and business circumstances of his grandfather meet in a titanic conscience clash and how he resolves matters is at the nexus of the plot.