Vijay is a poet whose work is rejected by every publisher he meets. Humiliated by his brothers, who sell his poetry as waste paper, he leaves home to live on the streets of Calcutta. A young prostitute, Gulab, finds Vijay's poems and is struck by their brilliance as a chance meeting brings them together. She falls in love with him but Vijay is still emotionally attached to Meena, who rejected his love.