Deshu is a quiet young man with a distinct brooding intensity. One day he witnesses the killing of a man in his chawl by gangsters who work for a Bhai named Maangli.
The police round up Deshu to identify the killer. Deshu is in a fix. He knows that if he identifies the killer, he will be the next on Bhai's hit list. And if he doesn't, he would have to bite the police baton and take a good beating at the hands of cops. Deshu wisely chooses the latter. After this, Deshu approaches Maangli's rival bhai, named Haashim (Goga Kapoor), with a deal that he will kill Maangli for a place in Haashim's gang.
Deshu kills Maangli and wins Haashim's confidence. Thereby begins the rise of Deshu in the underworld. He becomes one of the trusted men of Haashim, but is envied by the latter's two sons Mukarram and Shabbir. Deshu rises to higher ranks and hires his own men, among whom is the happy-go-lucky Raghav. Deshu also befriends an actress (Rukhsaar).
Meanwhile, Mukarram and Shabbir can't digest Deshu's good fortunes and convince Haashim that Deshu has been cutting more than his share of money in the deals. The bada bhai gives his nod to act against Deshu. And thus begins a bloody battle in which many, including Raghav and his wife (Isha Koppikar), are killed.