"Bhavna" the movie is a story of a less privileged woman. A young lady, an orphan named Bhavna Saxena who lives all alone in the city meets a man named Ajay Kapoor in a garden, sketching her portrait. They became friends and later on the friendship turns into love. Eventually they get married, however, Kapoor's dad had not granted permission for this marriage. Ajay is an artist who does not make enough money. Bhavna tries to sell his paintings going from door to door, but their financial condition is poor. In the midst of this worsening financial situation, Bhavna realises that she is pregnant with Ajay's child. Ajay is unhappy to hear this as he feels that he cannot afford the expenditure of raising a child. Unable to endure the worsening financial situation, Ajay decides to go and meet his rich millionaire father who resides in another city. He tells Bhavna that he would return in a couple of days. Ajay leaves Bhavna alone and many days pass. The days turn into weeks and weeks into months. Still there is no news of Ajay. Ajay never came back to Bhavna. Bhavna manages to procure Ajay's father's address and goes in search of Ajay. Bhavna is astonished to see that Ajay has married another woman as per his father's wishes. Dejected, Bhanva confides her sorrows to Shobha, her best friend. But this was not the end of her struggles in life.

• Shabana Azmi as Bhavna Saxena
• Marc Zuber as Ajay Kapoor
• Saeed Jaffrey as Ram Kishen
• Rohini Hattangadi as Shobha
• Vikas Anand as Nawab
• Hansu Mehta
• Kanwaljit Singh as Dr. Anil B. Saxena
• Satish Shah as Mr. Sinha
• Ashalata Wabgaonkar as Mrs. Ram Kishen
• Rajesh Puri as Raju (Ajay's Friend)
• Urmila Matondkar as Ram Kishen's Daughter

• Filmfare Best Actress Award for Shabana Azmi