The film opens with a daredevil escape magician Ramesh Kumar (Ramesh Deo) receiving word that his close friend Inspector Hanuman Prasad (Pran) has just lost his wife during childbirth. As Ramesh's wife is unable to bear children, the inspector entrusts one of his twin children to Ramesh, to rear as his own, so they may both enjoy the children. They decide to keep this a secret between them (and the doctor). Ramesh returns to Mumbai and the boy, Shyam, learns the tricks of the trade to become Shyam jadugar (Shyam the magician, played by Amitabh Bachchan). Ramesh meets an untimely death during a failed Chinese Water Torture Cell escape trick, and his wife steadfastly dissuades Shyam from pursuing magic. However, Shyam resolves to perform the escape successfully as a tribute to his late father.