Satyendra Mishra (Rajkummar Rao) and Aarti Shukla (Kriti Kharbanda) live in Uttar Pradesh with their respective families. A marriage proposal for Satyendra goes out from Aarti’s family, and the prospective candidates meet over coffee although they both are awkward with the arrangement. While Satyendra has just got a job of a clerk in a government department, Aarti has just completed her education in Allahabad. The two hit it off in the first meeting and decide to get married.
Satyendra’s mother (Alka Amin) and maternal uncle, Mahesh (Vipin Sharma), are brazen about the fact that they want a fat sum of money as dowry – and they say so in as many words when Aarti’s father, Shyam Sunder Shukla (Govind Namdeo), and Aarti’s maternal uncle, Jogi (Manoj Pahwa), go to meet the Mishras to talk about dowry and other wedding arrangements. Despite finding the demand way beyond his means, Shukla agrees to the proposal as he feels that Satyendra is the best match for his daughter. Shyam Sunder Shukla is very orthodox in his thinking and firmly believes that girls should be married off at the first opportunity. Not for him working girls and all that. But since Aarti is career-minded, she tells Satyendra right in their first meeting that she would want to take up a job after marriage. Satyendra readily agrees.
In the Mishra household, while Satyendra’s dad, Jugal Kishore Mishra (K.K. Raina), is forward-thinking, Satyendra’s mother is not just traditional but is also a manipulator and, if one may say so, evil-minded.
Satyendra and Aarti meet during their courtship days and become extremely fond of each other.
To Aarti’s elder married sister, Abha’s (Nayani Dixit) shock, Satyendra’s mother tells her on the day the marriage is to be solemnised that the Mishras would not even dream of having Aarti work in an office.
Even as the baaraat is on its way from Satyendra’s house to Aarti’s house, Aarti gets a happy news that gladdens her heart no end. But this news, coupled with what Abha has been told by Satyendra’s mother, becomes the reason for Aarti to run away from her home before the marriage can be solemnised. To the shock and devastation of Satyendra and his family, the wedding is called off – and the reason given for it is that Aarti had just gotten to know that the Mishras had demanded dowry, which was not acceptable to her. Before running away, Aarti had tried to call Satyendra several times as she loved him immensely, but he didn’t hear his cellphone ringing in the din of the baaraat celebrations and music.
Aarti finds out that she has cleared the officer’s exam, and is instigated by her sister and mama, to elope. The reason is the discussion that Aarti’s sister and her mother-in-law had about Aarti not being allowed to work.
Five years later, Aarti is a respected officer in a government department. Suddenly one day, she is accused of accepting bribe money of Rs. 3 Crore. Her case comes before the district magistrate. And the district magistrate is none other than Satyendra Mishra!
Satyendra then starts tormenting Aarti to avenge his and his family’s insult. Aarti tries to explain everything to him, be it the case, or the incident that had happened on their wedding night, but, he shuts her down every time, insulting her even more.
Finally, Satyendra reveals who really was behind the whole scam, and the two sort out their differences. As they move on in life, becoming good friends, Aarti realizes her love for him, and begs him to marry her. Satyendra, still bitter from what had happened, blatantly refuses in and again. Finally, Aarti says yes to an arranged marriage and invites Satyendra to it.
Upon arriving, Satyendra realizes that he must let his ego go, and confess his love for Aarti, or he would lose her forever. Things escalate when Aarti’s groom listens in to the conversation, and, drags out Aarti, to start the wedding. Satyendra gets hold of Aarti’s brother’s gun and threatens to kill everyone if Aarti doesn’t marry him.
Turns out, Satyendra had found out that this whole wedding was just a drama to make him accept his feelings, and then marry Aarti right at the spot. Also, Satyendra had found out about this and was putting on a show of his own with the gun waving at the fake groom.