The film features an ensemble cast of Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Mazhar Khan, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Raza Murad, Reena Roy, Smita Patil, Anita Raj, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Shivpuri.

The film, which portrays the caste system in Rajasthan, lead to communal riots in many small cities of the state.

Ranjit Singh Chaudhary is the son of a Jat peasant, living in a village which is dominated by a rich zamindar (landlord) Rajput Thakur family.

As a teenager studying in the village school, Ranjit is rebellious and defiant against deep rooted caste prejudices and discriminatory practices.

He begins by storming into the landlord's living room, accusing him and his ancestors of being blood-suckers, and challenging him to take possession of the mortgaged land if he dares.

By this time, after a random gunfight or two, once over the fact that the landlord's men were collecting their share of the harvest from the village peasants, Ranjit had become a fugitive from the law.

The violent climax underscores the harsh reality that the rebels always die, the cruel and unjust system does not.