Rano (Hema Malini), a fiesty woman, lives in a village with her drunkard husband, Triloka (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), and her two children. Her mother-in-law, Zinda (Dina Pathak), constantly berates her for her inadequate dowry, even years after her marriage. Only her father-in-law, Hazur Singh (A. K. Hangal), an old blind man, is kind towards her but can do little. The only member of family who can save her from the wrath of Triloka is her brother-in-law, Mangal (Rishi Kapoor).
One night Triloka drops a young girl left behind at the railway station to a nearby dharmshala. The next morning when the girl is found raped, her enraged brother kills Triloka in rage.
After her husband Triloka is murdered, Rano is forced to marry her younger brother-in-law, Mangal, her brother-in-law, who is a good ten years younger than her and whom she had looked upon as a son, through the ceremony of 'chadar daalna'. The film derives its name from it.
Raji(Poonam Dhillon) a Banjaran Girl, Mangal's (Rishi Kapoor) love interest, who leaves the scene once Mangal gets married.
42