Lal Singh (Amitabh Bachchan) lives with his mother (Nirupa Roy) in a small basti in Bombay and grows up with the poor and needy, who call him Lal Badshah. He's a helpful person dead-set against crime. In the same city lives Vikram Singh alias Vicky Baadshah (Raghuvaran), the Don of the city; the two are always clashing. Vicky is the son of Dayal Singh (Amrish Puri) who lives far away from Mumbai in a castle. Vicky and his brother Ajit Singh (Mukesh Rishi), a corrupt police officer, want to rule the city. Meanwhile, Lal meets Kiran (Manisha Koirala), an L.I.C. agent who falls in love with him and determines to become his wife. At the castle, Dayal Singh is still hunting for the treasures of the Maharaja, whom he murdered years ago along with his brother Sultan Singh (Prem Chopra). When the Maharaja was murdered, his son Dewan Ranbir Singh (also Amitabh Bachchan) hid the treasure, for which Dayal Singh tried to murder him. What is the link between Ranbir Singh and his look-alike Lal Singh, and will Dayal Singh ever find the treasure?