Plot summary

Raj Batra (Irrfan Khan) is running a successful business of bridal wears in downtown Delhi. Although rich, he is not highly educated & is not fluent in English or the supposedly 'high class culture' his wife Mita (Saba Qamar) aspires to be. Both of them have studied from govt run 'Hindi Medium' school, not known to have high degree of sophistication. Mita aspires that their 5 year daughter Pia should break this barrier & is adamant that she is to be admitted to one of the top 5 schools in Delhi. They visit all the 5 schools & get acquainted with the admission procedure. The top school 'Delhi Grammar School' has a condition that they give admission to students who reside within 3km radius. For this they shift to Vasant Vihar. Raj is very sad to leave his paternal home.Later they realize that parents are interviewed for the admission & they are not prepared for that. They go to a consultant who grooms them & Pia for the interview. As it happens Raj has not fully prepared his tutored answers to questions in the interview and unknowingly gets exposed. As a result, they don't get admission to any of the schools. The consultant later informs them that since they are not highly educated, the schools might have seen this as a negative point. Raj tries all ploys to get admission at 'Prakriti'. He meets influential politicians, tries to bribe the principal with donation money, etc. None of his tricks succeed.Depressed, they are resting at home when one of their employees comes with sweets. He is distributing sweets because his daughter has got admission at 'Prakriti'. Raj & Mita are totally shocked. They cannot believe that their employee who earns much less than them and is less educated than them got admission. They ask him how it happened. It turns out that his daughter got admission from RTE (Right to education) quota, reserved specifically by the govt for students coming from lower strata of the society. Raj had sent him to 'Prakriti' to get form for his daughter, so along with that he got admission form for his daughter as well.Raj & Mita both are furious at first, but then Raj tries to explore if they can get admission through this quota. So it turns out that 1-2 students usually quit because they are not able to handle the pressure of expectations or the social divide they experience in school. A tout explains him that he can arrange all forged documents & can even rig the lottery process through which students are selected. He pays the tout & gets everything done. He submits the form & returns home happily. Mita is delighted & just as they are about to enjoy their victory a news flashes on the TV. A scandal is exposed related to RTE quota where rich parents are bribing their way through. Both of them panic, but then it seems that the only option before them is to actually start living life of a poverty-stricken family at the address which they had filled in the form.Initially they find it difficult to adjust in their new dwelling. They have to fight their way to get basic amenities like water, public toilet (the house does not have a toilet), ration, etc. Their friendly neighbors Shyam Prasad (Deepak Dobriyal) & his wife Tulsi help them through their ordeals. Although with very limited means, they share their ration, care for their daughter Piya, assist Raj with a job, etc. All of this really touches Raj & Mita. One fine day a teacher from 'Delhi Grammar School' arrives to do a background verification. He finds everything in order & informs them that they will get admission to the school, but they will have to pay Rs. 24000 as sundry charges (Tuition Fee is not applicable under RTE quota). Raj is overwhelmed & readily agreeing, but Shyam is worried because he feels Raj doesn't have that much money. There is slight argument between the two, but Raj commits to the schoolteacher that he will arrange the money.Late in the night Raj quietly sets out from his home to withdraw money from the ATM. Shyam sees him & thinks that Raj is depressed & comes out to give him company. Just as they are crossing the road, Shyam is hit by a SUV. Although not seriously injured he is bleeding profusely. Raj is angry & threats to inform the police. The driver is scared and settles the dispute by handing them a substantial sum of cash money to compensate for the accident. Raj takes Shyam to hospital and is in a state of shock. Shyam gives Raj Rs. 20,000 to cover most of Piya's school fee.Raj realizes that Shyam had risked his life by intentionally being hit by the SUV to extract money from the driver for Piya's school fee. When Raj asks him why he risked his life, Shyam replies that for a poor man his life is the only asset he has.Eventually it turns out 10 parents had got admission through RTE quota at 'Delhi Grammar School' by fraudulent means & their admission are canceled. The school conducts a new round of lottery to fill the seats. Piya eventually gets admission. Raj and his family leave the home and return to their Vasant Vihar home. Raj is still in state of shock and cannot believe that a poor man risked his life to pay school fees of Piya. He is equally in state of guilt because Piya got a seat while Shyam's son, Mohan did not. Raj believed that Piya's seat rightfully belonged to Shyam's son Mohan. This is where he truly realizes that "sharing is caring", which he was tutored earlier before school interviews.The film goes on to highlight other aspects of society like how a poor man and his child are imbibed within themselves the feeling of "sharing is caring" whereas for rich kids it is only a concept which needs to be taught to show sympathy to the poor. Just to overcome his guilt he goes to the school where Shyam's son is studying and donates a substantial sum of money to renovate it. New books arrive and Shyam is totally touched to see his son fluent in English. Out of gratitude he tries to meet the person who has made donation to the school. When he comes to know the reality, he is really sad and exclaims that he doesn't want charity, he wants his rights.Raj's guilt takes over and he meets school principal to revert his admission. Mita opposes, but Raj exclaims that before he can be a good father or husband, he must learn to be a good human. Eventually there is a show down in the auditorium where Raj gives a moving speech & walks away from the school. A few parents appreciate that, but out of fear for their kids, or pressure by their partners, they remain silent. Later Raj and Mita send Piya to the government run Hindi Medium school where Mohan studies. The film ends with a beautiful message that the main purpose of education is to make good human beings.