In the village of Vrindavan in ancient India, there lives a young teenage boy of 15 years called Krishna. He is very dark in complexion, cute, handsome and charming. He is infamous for his pranks on his fellow villagers and the people (especially the women) complain almost daily to his foster mother Yashoda. In spite of her scolding and beating him, he doesn't change his ways. He is usually accompanied by his brother Balarama and his sister Subhadra, as well as the other local children. We see him do things such as steal butter stored up in almost unreachable shelves, steal the clothes of the young virgin women while they bathe, and chase the chickens kept in the coops of his neighbours' house.
That spring, a new family moves to Vrindavan- Vrishabhanu and Kirtida, along with their beautiful, 20-something year old daughter Radha. The village of cowherds welcome the new family and they settle there and join the village's business of cattle herding. People are immediately fond of Radha's simplicity and beauty.
One day, while carrying butter to sell, Krishna spots Radha among the other women and is immediately smitten. He goes to her and tries to have some butter from her pot, but she just ignores him. Not one to give up easily, Krishna follows her all the way and annoys her by trying to butt in to her conversations, trying to put his arm around her and finally he grabs her by the wrist intending to pull her towards him so that he may kiss her. However, when he does this, she drops her pot of butter and it breaks. Krishna shamelessly goes to the spilled butter, has a mouthful and then runs off.
Radha finds out about Krishna and goes to complain to Yashoda and Nanda (Krishna's foster father and Yashoda's husband). The three of them go to confront Krishna, whom they find peacefully playing his flute and surrounded by a herd of cattle, who seem to listen to his music intently. Radha is stunned to see the lad play such beautiful music. However, regaining her composure, Radha walks over to him and pulls him up and walks him to his parents, who scold him for misbehaving with Radha. As Yashoda thrashes him, Krishan gives Radha a pained look which makes her immediately feel bad, and so she pulls him away from Yashoda and begs her not to hurt him since he is only a boy. After this, Radha walks home, and she keeps turning to look at Krishna as she leaves.
The next day, Radha finds Krishna with his group of friends and sees him joking around with them. She hides behind some cows as one of his friends asks him who that beautiful girl he tried to kiss was. Krishna begins talking about Radha- when Radha hears him describe her looks and behaviour, she is amused but touched. As if by divine ordinance, Krishna looks in Radha's direction and the cow that was standing in front of her moves back to reveal her to the young lads. She stands up, puts her veil back on her head and walks away, blushing.
That evening, Krishna asks Yashoda about why Radha has come to Vrindavan and she tells him that she is to be married to a man named Janardhana, a wealthy merchant. When Krishna hears this, he sneaks out of his home at night and goes to see where Radha lives. He sees her getting ready for bed from behind some trees. When she comes out to feel the breeze, Krishna reveals himself. Radha is surprised at first, but Krishna begs her not to scream for help, and so she keeps quiet. Krishna asks her why she is getting married to a merchant, to which she responds that her father wanted her to do so, and she obeyed him. Krishna begins to cry and confesses his love to her, which makes her come to him and not being able to bear the sight of him crying, she embraces him and kisses his forehead. Krishna kisses her cheek and asks her to come and see him in a secluded spot at the bank of the Yamuna river the next evening. She agrees to do so and they both say goodbye and part for the night.
The next morning, Vrishabhanu throws a big party for Janardhana and his family and an engagement ceremony for Radha and Janardhana is conducted. Krishna and Balarama also attend the ceremony, where Radha and Krishna both try to discreetly catch glimpses of each other.
That evening, Krishna waits in the middle of some beautiful flowering trees and bushes, playing his flute. Radha comes to see him and she sits besides him, mesmerised by his flute playing. Krishna apologises for his bad behaviour on their first meeting and once again tells her that he loves her. Radha returns his feelings, and they both kiss.
Krishna and Radha then spend the whole evening frolicking among the trees and when the stars become visible, they sadly bid adieu and go to their respective homes. They keep meeting like this for some days, and eventually she introduces him to her friends- the other cowherd girls. They immediately take a liking to him and he playfully flirts with them, much to Radha's annoyance. However, he never locks lips with any of the women other than Radha and treats her different from the others, which annoys them.
A fun scene that takes place is the Holi celebration- everyone spends the day throwing coloured powder and water on each other, including Krishna, Radha and their friends. Krishna and Radha both get drenched in water, and they both go away in secret to the bank of the Yamuna, where they strip and bathe together. Neither can resist touching and embracing each other while in the water, and once their clothes are dry, they put them back on and go home. Radha takes Krishna to her house and he falls asleep on her lap. As the sun sets, Krishna wakes up and finds Radha fast asleep. He draws Radha's covers over her, kisses her goodbye and goes to his own home.
As Radha's wedding day approaches, Krishna eagerly awaits her at the Yamuna and she comes to him, and they spend the whole evening kissing, embracing and playing with each other. A few days before Radha's wedding, Krishna's family receives word that he is to appear before Kansa, the king of Mathura, on a special occasion. The day is the same as Radha's wedding, and Krishna is at once alarmed. That night, Radha and Krishna meet as usual, and they make love in the shade of some jamun trees. After they help each other get dressed, Krishna and Radha tearfully bid each other goodbye. When Radha asks him why he didn't marry her, Krishna responds, "Marriage is a union of two souls. You and I are one soul- how can I marry myself?".
The next day, a royal entourage arrives to take Krishna away and his whole family and village bid him farewell. Radha watches from a distance and waves goodbye as Krishna, accompanied by Balarama, mounts the chariot and heads off. Radha runs out of her house and follows after the chariot, and the two lovers wave goodbye until the chariot disappears into the distance. Once this happens, Radha falls to her knees and bursts into tears, weeping loudly. Her friends come and help her up, after which they take her away to prepare her for her wedding to Janardhana.
