Saudagar – PSLP 4058 – Cover Reprinted – LP Record

The movie starts with Mandhari, an old crippled man, telling a story of two friends to some kids. In the story, Rajeshwar Singh, a landlord’s son, and Veer Singh, a poor boy, become friends. They are naughty kids, calling each other as Raju and Veeru respectively. As the duo grow up, Raju decides to get his sisters marriage arranged with Veeru. Neither his sister nor Veeru have any objections to the marriage.

However, as luck would have it, a girls marriage is disrupted due to her in laws demanding dowry. Veeru steps in to save the face of the girl and her parents by marrying her. While Raju is shocked by this development, his sister, who had a secret crush on Veeru, commits suicide. A devastated and distraught Raju now declares that Veeru is solely responsible for whatever happened and that the latter is now his mortal enemy.

With these new developments, the duo have their territories marked. They come to an uneasy and unwritten truce: no one will kill a living soul from the others territory, but anybody entering other persons territory will be doing this at his own peril. Chuniya, a kin of Raja, sees an opportunity to leech off the money of Rajeshwar by keeping the two sides at war. Chuniya has Veer’s son Vishal killed, making the latter believe that Rajeshwar will stop at nothing to eliminate Veer.

Over the years, the tension escalates. The clashes between the former friends become a headache for the Commissioner. Mandhari, who is now revealed to be a beggar and part of the story, happens to be one of the lucky few who do not have any fear of death from either side. Mandhari claims to the Commissioner that the day he finds out a solution to the problem, he will dance on one leg.