- A dysfunctional middle-class family is transformed due to the influence of their new multi-talented household servant - but he might be too good to be true.
- Squabbling Sharma family has a dubious reputation of not having any cook last there for more than a few months. Word spreads out about this family to such an extent that no person wants to be employed as a cook in this household, ironically named Shanti Nivas ("Abode of Peace"). Then one day a young man named Raghu offers to work as a cook and he is hired. Raghu quickly gets a grip on his job and on each of the family members, and soon their internal squabbles and arguments come to an end. And then the Sharmas find that Raghu might have been too good to be true.—Soumitra
- The film starts by the introduction of Shanti Niwas and its residents by Amitabh Bachchan, who is the narrator here. He points out that Shanti Niwas is a pot of ironies: Even though its name means "Home of Peace", there is no peace here. The home, which houses the Sharma family, has members who hate each other for reasons unknown. Even a servant cannot withstand the Sharmas for more than a month. Ramnath Sharma (Munna) (A. K. Hangal) & wife Seeta Sharma (Badi Maa) (Durga Khote); younger bro Kashi (Kali Bannerjee) & wife Shobha Sharma (Choti Maa) (Usha Kiran); youngest bro Vishwanath Sharma (Bubbu) (Asrani); Krishna (Jaya Bhaduri) is the recluse daughter of Daduji's dead son and daughter-in-law. Ramnath drinks at night.. Shobha wants to live separately, but Kashi thinks the minute they leave the house Daduji will give all wealth to Ramnath. Ramnath's daughter Meeta is learning to dance and Krishna secretly watches her. Krishna is secretly dating a boy named Arun, who also tutors her.
Ramnath is in trouble at work for coming in late daily (all morning goes in sorting out daily family and household quarrels and issues)..
After every month, the search for a new servant has to start. Then, suddenly a servant named Raghu (Rajesh Khanna) comes in. Even though nobody remembers asking for Raghu, they hire him. But Raghu has his own surprises in store for them. Gradually, the whole home comes to know that Raghu is not only an accomplished chef, but also an expert singer and dancer. Raghu tells his masters that he worked for reputed veterans of given fields, who taught him something or the other. Gradually, many aces start falling out of his sleeves, causing the Sharmas to develop an attraction to him. Even Daduji Shivnath (Harindranath Chattopadhyay), the disgruntled patriarch of the family, develops love for Raghu. Ramnath's performance at work improves and he gets a raise and 3 yr extension of service. Raghu celebrates the little things in the house and encourages family members to help in daily tasks and sharing the little moments. "Apna Kaam Tow Sabhi Karte Hain, Kabhi Doosron Ka Kaam Karne Ki Khushi Bhi Leejiye)
The family puts so much trust in Raghu that they even unwittingly show him the box containing the family jewels. Krishna loves to dance as well. On learning this, Raghu tutors her and brings her talents to the fore. Krishna wins the dance competition that Meeta is also participating. He also helps in clearing up the misunderstandings and calling truces between the family members (between Ramnath and Kashi) (between Badi ma and Choti Ma) (by getting them to share their past stories and reminding them how much they love each other). Daduji cannot help but think that Raghu is actually a savior sent by god. Meanwhile, nobody notices that Raghu is suspiciously eyeing the jewel box the whole time.
Meanwhile, Raghu learns that Krishna loves Arun, but the Sharmas are strictly against the union of Krishna with him (Arun was kicked out of the house when Krishna one day took him up to her room when Daduji was asleep. Badi Ma thought they were doing immoral stuff in her room). Arun also loves Krishna, but is helpless before Krishna's relatives as well. Amongst all the tangle, Raghu suddenly disappears. The Sharmas are also aghast to know that the box is missing as well. It does not take the Sharmas long to put two and two together. At the same time, Arun shows up. He explains that he saw Raghu in a suspicious condition with the box. When he asked Raghu about the box, Raghu tried to run away. He tried to stop Raghu, even beat him up (the boy is a wrestler), but Raghu somehow managed to escape.
Stunned by this unexpected turn of events, the attitude of Sharmas towards Arun changes and they agree to get him married with Krishna out of gratitude. Krishna, however, refuses to buy the story. When the Sharmas start abusing Raghu, Krishna's lover cannot take it anymore and tells them what really happened. He tells them that he met Raghu at his own wrestling ground. He had a little friendly match with Raghu, where he suffered minor injuries from Raghu. He saw the box and asked Raghu about it. Raghu said that the box was the real reason he came there. Raghu had asked him to take the box to the Sharmas and tell them that Raghu had stolen it so that Krishna's lover can get back his place in the house. Meanwhile, Krishna sees Raghu outside the house and asks him why did he do all this. Raghu told her that his real name was professor Prabhakar, but he took the fake name of Raghu. He had seen many families like the Sharmas which were on the brink of breaking up and hence decided to use his knowledge to stop this. Raghu tells her that this is his life's mission and now he has to go. The film ends with a scene of him traveling to a new destination and narration from Amitabh Bachchan that "Raghu is going to a new home. Let's hope it is not yours." The movie was a hit. It was the 8th highest-grossing film of the year.
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