On one particular night while Roop Lal is alone at home singing one of Phillauri's poems, Shashi comes to him and reveals that she is the one who writes poetry under the pseudonym of 'Phillauri' (which she can't do openly, being a woman). From that day onwards Roop Lal is a changed man, dedicating his life to knowing and understanding the poetry of Phillauri (which it is clear now that he is not the author of), and spreading its message via his beautiful singing to others. She asks him to use his talent – of being able to connect with the common man through his songs – for something important (especially when the struggle for independence is on) and not for frivolous matters. When he confronts her and tells her that he is the Phillauri who writes the poetry by narrating one of his famous poems to her, he is shocked when Shashi slaps and insults him. However Roop Lal notices that Shashi, unlike all the other village girls, never comes to hear him sing. Everyone in the village of Phillaur thinks that the poems are written by the singer Roop Lal 'Phillauri', who is the heart-throb of the village. Back in an unspecified time period, Shashi is a bright young woman who never fails to read the works of a poet named Phillauri that is regularly published in a local weekly. The story of Phillauri and Shashi is slowly revealed via the latter's flashbacks. As a result, from that day onward he is haunted by the spirit of a woman named Shashi, who lived in that particular tree and hence claims to now be 'married' to him. He reluctantly marries the tree, which is duly chopped down after the completion of the ceremony.
A young man Kanan returns to India from Canada to marry his long-term girlfriend Anu, but learns that he is a Manglik (born under an unlucky star) and has to marry a tree before marrying her.