Hazari Prasad (Anupam Kher) is a miser who dreams of finding a rich young woman for his only son, Raja (Aamir Khan), to marry. However, Raja is a spendthrift who is only interested in spending his father's money on wild parties.One day as Raja is walking to his college along with his friends, a passing jeep douses him with mud and the rude response of the beautiful Madhu (Madhuri Dixit) who is driving enrages Raja. He tricks Madhu into thinking that he is blind and then mocks her when the truth is revealed. The two quickly become enemies and play pranks on each other. Raja causes Madhu to trip during a dance rehearsal, and she forces him into a fight with the school's champion boxer Shakti (Adi Irani), which Raja wins.Meanwhile, Hazari is looking for a bride with a large dowry for Raja, only to find that his involvement in the wastepaper business makes his son a less-than-stellar marriage prospect. While visiting a lavish hotel, Hazari accidentally runs into a rich man, Mr. Mehra (Saeed Jaffrey), who has one daughter. Hazari hires actors to pretend to be his staff and gives beggars large quantities of counterfeit money to masquerade as a wealthy industrialist. He quickly becomes friends with Mr. Mehra and the two agree to marry their children to each other. However, when Raja meets his prospective bride, she turns out to be Madhu and the two refuse to consider the possibility of marriage.Madhu takes her dislike of Raja too far on a weekend school retreat when she falsely accuses him of trying to rape her. Raja is furious that his reputation has been ruined and reprimands her for her dishonesty and thoughtlessness, pointing out that many men would take their revenge, but he is different. Madhu instantly falls in love with Raja and kisses him in front of her entire class. The two enjoy an idyllic holiday. When they return to the city for their engagement party, Mr. Mehra discovers Hazari's true financial circumstances. Furious, he insults and strikes Hazari who immediately takes offense. Raja and Madhu are forbidden by their parents to see each other again.Nevertheless, the two continue to secretly meet. When Mr. Mehra discovers this he arranges to have some thugs beat up Raja. He also decides to send Madhu away where she will not be able to contact Raja. Before he can do so, Raja sneaks into Madhu's house and the two are married on the spot. Mr. Mehra banishes Madhu from the house, declaring that she is dead to him. Hazari also disowns Raja when he discovers that he has married the daughter of his greatest enemy. The couple moves into a small shack and Raja finds work as a construction worker. Despite their poverty, they are happy.Raja is hurt at the construction site. Madhu goes to beg his father for money to pay for an emergency operation. Hazari agrees, but only if she divorces him. He removes her wedding necklace and, in despair, Madhu returns to her father's house. Seeing her distress, he forgives her, but orders her to never see Raja again. When Raja recovers, Hazari tells him that Madhu returned to her father and never visited him at the hospital. Believing Madhu has deserted him to return to a life of luxury, Raja returns to his parents. Later, he discovers from his mother (Padmarani) that Madhu did not come to see him in the hospital because of his father's blackmail. He rushes to stop her from taking a plane to London but arrives after it takes off. Luckily, Madhu did not take the plane, and the two manage to reconcile their parents.