Renukadevi (Sulochana) is widowed and the mother of a son named Ram (Manoj Kumar). Her husband had indulged in all possible vices, and died. Her father-in-law, Rai (Brahma Bharadwaj), does not want Ram to repeat his father's mistakes, and teaches him all the positive values of the Hindu religion, in particular the contents of the Bhagavad Gita. As a result, Ram refrains from all known vices, is an expert in yogic exercises, decides to live the life of a celibate, and refuses to marry anyone. When Rai dies, Renuka asks Ram to fulfill his grandfather's last wishes, one of which was to get married. She even arranges his introduction to Aarti (Hema Malini), an attractive young woman. But Ram is convinced that marriage is not for him. Renuka is overjoyed when her estranged brother, Gopinath, (Raj Mehra) and his son, Rakesh, (Prem Chopra) return from abroad. With their help she hopes to get Ram married with Aarti. Then things get complicated when Rakesh falls in love with Aarti. Ram leaves town to attend to business, and circumstances propel Renuka to will her entire estate to Rakesh and change his name to Bharat, with the blessings of a renowned saint named Ishwar Baba. (Premnath). After this ceremony, the people around Renuka start showing their true colors, and after an open-palmed stinging slap from Aarti, Renuka realizes that her place in this house is now worse than that of a lowly servant. Renuka now finds out that Aarti, Gopinath, and Rakesh are not who they claim to be, but will this realization be enough to reverse the order of events, or does fate have something even worse in store for Renuka?

Ram (Manoj Kumar): In a gorgeous place stays a sanyasi – a religious minded young man who runs away from the wedding nuptials.

Aarti (Hema Malini): Today's Menaka. Yesterday's Menaka tried to disturb Vishwamitra's communion with god and today's Menaka Aarti tries to distract Ram's mind away from his religious thoughts. She adopts many disguises and agrees to do what one least expects a noble, attractive, and good girl like her to attempt.

Renuka Devi (Sulochana): Ram's mother. Her husband ruined his life while he was still young, because of drinking and womanising. Not wanting her son to be like his father, she has kept Ram surrounded by a religious atmosphere since his childhood. The result is that Ram grows up to be different from all other young men – a true sanyasi.

Girdhari and Banwari: The robbers. They have entered Ram's house in disguise as his uncle and cousin, posing as father and son. They have taken the place of Renuka Devi's brother and his son who died in a train accident. Ram's mother embraces them as her long separated brother and nephew, but does not know that these two devils are here to swindle her belongings and happiness.

Shanti Baba: A true sanyasi. Who can kill the soul that lives only to bring happiness to others? The most unforgettable screen character you will ever come across, the true sanyasi who lays down his life in order to rescue a helpless woman from the clutches of Mangal Singh.

Ishwar Baba: A fraud, a blot on the very noble tribe of a saffron-clad sanyasi. He is, in fact, evil dacoit Mangal Singh, a murderer, rapist and drunkard. But in daytime he poses as a recluse and pretends to perform miracles to impress the unsuspecting devotees.

• Manoj Kumar ... Ram Rai
• Hema Malini ... Aarti/Champa
• Prem Nath ... Ishwar Baba/Mangal Singh
• Prem Chopra ... Banwari
• Aruna Irani ... Radhika
• Pran ... Shanti Baba 'Guruji'
• Indrani Mukherjee ... Devotee
• Kamini Kaushal ... Champa's Mother
• Sulochana ... Renuka Devi
• Chandra Shekhar ... Police Inspector Shekhar
• Sailesh Kumar ... Ranjeet (as Shailesh Kumar)
• Raj Mehra ... Girdhari
• Hari Shivdasani ... Family Advocate
• Murad ... Seth Hiralal
• Brahm Bhardwaj ... Rai (as Bram Bhradwaj)
• V. Gopal ... Mangal Mistry's Man
• C.S. Dubey ... Munimji
• Rajpal
• Yunus Parvez ... Hakim Rahim Khan (as Yunus Parveez)
• Keshav Rana ... Mangal Mistry's Man
• Dhumal ... Dinu - House Servant
• Kuljeet
• Kamaldeep ... Mangal Mistry's Man (as Kamal Deep)
• Narbada Shankar
• Tiger sonnaiii
• Shera
• Romeo
• G.A. Sheikh
• Dinesh Hingoo ... Roop Chand
• Bihari
• Harbans Darshan M. Arora ... Man who received donations (as Darshan Arora)
• Sabina
• Sheela ... (as Sheila)
• Madhup Sharma
• Krishna Kumar
• Kumari Naaz ... Savitri (uncredited)
• Nazima ... Aarti (uncredited)
• Helen ... 1st Dancer (song "Tu Mera Din Hai")
• Jayshree T. ... 3rd Dancer (song "Tu Mera Din Hai")
• Arpana Choudhary ... 2nd Dancer (song "Tu Mera Din Hai") (as Aparna Chowdhary)

23rd Filmfare Awards:

Nominated

• Best Film – Sohanlal Kanwar
• Best Director – Sohanlal Kanwar
• Best Actor – Manoj Kumar
• Best Actress – Hema Malini
• Best Music Director – Shankar–Jaikishan
• Best Lyricist – Visveshwara Sharma for "Chal Sanyasi"
• Best Male Playback Singer – Manna Dey for "Kya Maar Sakegi"

Music Director for all songs: Shankar-Jaikishan

• Sanyasi at IMDb