Lajja is a social crime drama. The movie revolves around Vaidehi (Manisha Koirala), a young pregnant woman, who runs away from her abusive husband. While on the run she meets three courageous women – Maithili (Mahima Chaudhry), Janki (Madhuri Dixit) and Ramdulari (Rekha). Maithili, the daughter of a middle-class man, was supposed to get married to the son of a wealthy man, but her in-laws demand an extravagant marriage and a huge sum of money as dowry. It is then she realises enough is enough, and insults her fiancé’s family for being so petty. Janki, a theatre artist, who is in love with her colleague and is pregnant with his baby, is insulted by him when someone bad mouthsabout her. Janki stands against him and the society who always suspects women of having a bad character. Ramdulari, a woman from a small village, helps other women of her village, who often become the target of assaults of the village leaders – Gajendra and Virendra. Meeting these women surely changes Vaidehi’s life.