When Ratan finds out that Sewakram has been defrauding the mill employees, he decides to form a union, a move that is opposed by his brother Ram, who is devoted and loyal to Sewakram. Things go from bad to worse when the workers decide to go on strike, while Ram decides to throw Ratan out of the house. Word gets around that Ratan is against Sewakram, and soon he gets blacklisted.

Sheela who was supposed to marry Kundan, the son of Sitaram, has her marriage canceled, and the family lose their prestige and credit in the community.

The question remains, will the workers continue to be at the mercy of Sewakram, and will the Lal family be re-united again and is answered during the latter half of the movie.

This was the first time Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar appeared in a film together. (They later appeared together once again over three decades later for the 1991 film Saudagar).

The film was later remade in Tamil as Irumbu Thirai by S. S. Vasan with Sivaji Ganesan in Dilip Kumar's role, while Vyjayanthimala and Saroja Devi reprise their roles respectively.