The film is derived from a classic folktale, originally narrated by Vijaydan Detha, and interpreted as a folk play by Habib Tanvir. The film charts the tumultuous life of a petty thief, Charandas. While running away from Police he encounters a Guru and makes four vows to him as penance, that he would never eat in a gold plate, never lead a procession that is in his honor, never become a king and never marry a princess, thinking all of them are far out possibilities for him. Later, his guru adds a fifth one - never to tell a lie and sets him off on his life's journey which leads him to a kingdom, where the turn of events make him famous, and eventually he is offered the seat of political power which he has to refuse. Later, the local princess Kelavati gets enchanted by him and proposes to marry him. He refuses to do so according to his vows to his guru. As he is put to death, he illustrates the inherent paradox in human existence, where truthful existence becomes an impossibility, for the truthful and the accidentally truthful, alike.