Two years after the independence, Johny Balraj (Ranbir Kapoor) and his mother migrate to Bombay in search of a livelihood. But the cruel realities of the city forces his mother to turn into a prostitute and the little balraj had to stay in a brothel. Grown up witnessing utter poverty and all the bitter and gruesome acts, Balraj becomes a big time crook. His sole aim in life is to become a 'Big Shot' and his childhood best friend and partner in crime Chiman (Satyadeep Mishra) is with him throughout supporting his atrocities.

As the story proceeds, Balraj falls for Rosie Naronha (Anushka Sharma) who is a bar-club singer with a grave past. Rosie chooses to be with a rich, middle aged Jamshed Mistry (Manish Choudhary) who is the editor of a famous newspaper. In the quest to become rich and have rosie by his side, Johny bumps into Khambatta (Karan Johar) who is a villainous, moneyed, land dealer, by chance and then the doors to the rich and powerful open for him. To acquire the 'Big Shot' status, he becomes a cold blooded killer. Khambatta becomes his godfather and makes him the manager of the lite class club -'Bombay Velvet'. This is the place for all the illegal deals and smugglings. Rosie becomes the voice of Bombay Velvet and now the love interest of Johny Balraj. What the dreadful world has it for Johny, Rosie and Khambatta is the further watch in the film.