Jasbir, the son of the sharecropper, Thola, is treated as a brother by the landlord Dharam Singh. The landlord’s son, however, does not continue this family tradition. As Jasbir’s mother belongs to a nomed caste, the hero’s love for the bride of the impotent barber Nika is fraught with problems.

A faithful adaptation of Gurdial Singh’s eponymous landmark novel, Marhi Da Deeva is a crucial work of Punjabi cinema. Delicately weaving the subject of agrarian oppression into a unique tale of unrequited love, this film offers a piercing insight into the feudal realities of rural Punjab.