'Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Ata Hai' revolves around the Pintos and the people connected to them. There's Albert who's pretty much angry at everybody. His brother Dominic who thinks it's better to be jobless than to work an underpaid job, his patient sister Joan who works at a sari shop, his independent girlfriend Stella who feels under-appreciated by her boyfriend, his father and his colleagues, client and Stella's family. The film is very much a social commentary about Middle-class life in Bombay during the late ’70s and the conflicts arising in the labour force because workers were getting severely underpaid.

Amma (Smita Patil) is a woman who has been raped and then forced to flee her home with her husband and child after her husband kills the rapist. Her life plunges even lower in the overwhelming and crowded city when her husband, in turn, is killed by smugglers. Left alone to fend for herself and her little boy, she desperately tries to instill moral values in her son in spite of the immorality of life all around them. She is indirectly aided in this effort by a dubious hero-type, but there does not seem to be much hope for her future and that of her son.

Ravi, a progressive schoolteacher in a small village helps fight an epidemic by getting his students inoculated. He incurs the wrath of local witchdoctor in the process.

Arvind Desai is the only son of a rich businessman who deals in luxury handicrafts and products. His feelings for his father are mixed—while he hates his dominating nature, he admires his power and lack of scruples. He has long discussions on art and politics with a Marxist friend Rajan, is seeing his father's secretary Alice, and sometimes he visits a prostitute, Fatima. Much against his wishes, his marriage is arranged to a girl from a high-class family that has just returned from Paris; much to the dismay of Alice's mother, who realizes that Alice was just time-pass for Arvind and nothing more.

Arvind Desai is the only son of a rich businessman who deals in luxury handicrafts and products. His feelings for his father are mixed—while he hates his dominating nature, he admires his power and lack of scruples. He has long discussions on art and politics with a Marxist friend Rajan, is seeing his father's secretary Alice, and sometimes he visits a prostitute, Fatima. Much against his wishes, his marriage is arranged to a girl from a high-class family that has just returned from Paris; much to the dismay of Alice's mother, who realizes that Alice was just time-pass for Arvind and nothing more.

The story deals with a professional hitman, who falls in love with the woman he sets out to murder.

The film is derived from a classic folk tale, originally narrated by Vijaydan Detha, and interpreted as folk play by Habib Tanvir. The film charts the tumultuous life of a petty thief, Charandas (Lalu Ram). Curiously he is a man of principles – an honest thief with a strong sense of integrity and professional efficiency. He makes four vows to his Guru, that he would never eat in a gold plate, never lead a procession that is in his honour, never become a king and never marry a princess, thinking all of them are far out possibilities for him. Later, his guru adds a fifth one - never to tell a lie and sets him of on his life's journey which leads him to a kingdom..