Kartavya, as the title suggests deals with the duties of men and women which they are forced to undertake either willingly or unwillingly. Duties in the Hindu ethos have been linked to the philosophy of ‘Karma’ &‘Dharma’. All the Indian mythologicals have stressed on the fact that a man is bound by Karma to do his duty that has been ordained to him. A Kshatriya during war is forced by his Dharma to kill his own brethren, as fighting a war is his Karma. This is expounded in the Mahabharat and especially in The Bhagwad Gita.

The story of Kartavya explores the various dilemmas and conflicts that its characters face while performing their duties, which they consider as their Karma. Janardhan is banished by his wife Sita in ‘Kartavya’ for his failing to provide for her children and her, a decent life. It was Janardhan’s Kartavya to provide for his wife and children that he failed in for which Sita threw him out of her life.Prithvi, Sita’s brother connives with his younger brother and sister-in-law to throw Sita out of their house and cheat her of her share of the property as they feel in Patriarchy it’s the sons who get major share and not the daughter. Hence they thing its their Kartavya to uphold a Patriarchal tradition and cheat their own sister.

Janardhan due to a series of mishaps and misunderstandings marries a widow Meeta in Mumbai. He thought it was his Kartavya to marry the lady who took care of him and nursed him from his injuries. He was wrongly informed that Sita, his first wife had got married to some one else after he was thrown out.Sita remains a married woman but lives the life of a widow. She has been waiting for Janardhan to come back and considers it her Kartavya as an Indian  wife to remain unmarried and not even look at another man as she is a betrothed to Janardhan. She waits for 20 long years and when she meets him he is all ready married to another woman.

Mohan, Janardhan and Meeta’s son is bound by his Kartavya as a brother and eldest son of Janardhan to take care of his step brothers, Dheeraj, Suraj and Purab. In performing this duty of his he faces acute resentment from the stepbrothers. They feel that Mohan being their foster father’s son will take away their entire father’s property and wealth and they will be left penniless.

Janardhan’s dilemma is that he has two wives today both to whom he is legally married. He loves both and now what should be his Kartavya? Should he go back to Sita his first wife, with whom due to a misunderstanding he was separated or should he be with Meeta the woman who has taken care of him and been faithful for twenty years?Mohan marries a rich industrialist’s only daughter Sonal and takes over his business empire. He feels Duty bound (His Kartavya) to give his stepbrothers jobs in the business as they are all married and not doing well for themselves. Sonal is in a dilemma whether it’s her Kartavya to accept Mohan’s extended family, i.e. Father, two mothers, three brothers, their respective wives and children. In this process she gets alienated with Mohan, the only man she has loved so deeply apart from her father.

The three stepbrothers, with the active participation of their scheming wives cheat Mohan of his business Empire and make him penniless and throw him and Sonal out. The same way Sita’s brothers had cheated and thrown her out of her father’s house. Sonal upset at Mohan’s benevolence at trusting his brothers, realises that her husband has squandered her father’s ancestral wealth. She walks out on him. She says the same thing as Sita had told Janardhan that it’s Mohan’s Kartavya to take care of her and their child and Mohan failed in his duty.

Mohan left penniless and jobless with his father and two mothers to support decides to get back the fortunes of Sonal’s father from his stepbrothers. He realizes that it’s his Kartavya to get it back as it rightfully belongs to Sonal and their child. Will Mohan succeed in his venture? Will the family come back together and become one big family? Will the stepbrothers be in a position to handle the business? Will Sonal accept Mohan back? All this forms the remainder of the story of Kartavya.