In an Indian village, Buldeo, an elderly storyteller, is paid by a visiting British memsahib to tell a story of his youth. He speaks of the animals of the jungle, and of the ever-present threats to human life posed by the jungle itself. He then recalls his early life: As a younger man he dreams that his village could one day become an important town, and that the jungle could be conquered. However, when he is speaking about these dreams an attack by Shere Khan the tiger leads to the death of a man and the loss of a child. The child is adopted by wolves in the jungle and grows to be the wild youth Mowgli. Years later, Mowgli is captured by the villagers and recognised as the lost child. Taken in by his mother Messua, Mowgli learns to speak and tries to imitate the ways of men. He becomes friendly with Buldeo's daughter, Mahala, much to Buldeo's distress, since he is convinced that the wild Mowgli is dangerous. When Mowgli and Mahala explore the jungle, they discover a hidden chamber in a ruined palace, containing fabulous wealth. Warned by an aged cobra that the wealth brings death, they leave, but take one coin as a memento. When Buldeo sees the coin he tries to force Mowgli to tell him where the treasure is, but Mowgli refuses. Later Mowgli fights and kills Shere Khan. As he is skinning the body, Buldeo arrives. He threatens Mowgli with a gun, but is attacked by Mowgli's friend Bagheera the black panther. Buldeo becomes convinced that Bagheera is Mowgli himself, shape-shifted into panther form. He tells the villagers that Mowgli is a witch, as is his mother. Mowgli is chained up and threatened with death, but escapes with his mother's help. However, she and another villager who supports her are tied up, and themselves threatened with burning for witchcraft. Mowgli is followed by the greedy Buldeo and two friends to the lost city. They find the treasure, but Buldeo's friends are killed by the jungle, and their own greed, as they attempt to escape with it. Buldeo just survives, but has to jettison his loot. Engraged and maddened, he tries to kill Mowgli, and even the jungle itself, by starting a forest fire. The fire rages, but the wind turns and threatens the village. The villagers flee, but Mowgli's mother and supporter are trapped. Mowgli brings the elephants to the village and breaks open the building, escaping to the river with his Mother, Mahala and other villagers. He is invited to follow them to a new life downriver, but refuses to leave the jungle, turning back to help animals trapped by the fire. The scene returns to the present day, with the elderly Buldeo telling his story, and admitting that the jungle defeated his youthful dreams. When asked how he escaped from the fire himself, he looks into the camera and says that's another story.