Jeetu (Shahid Kapoor), a small town hustler, is constantly in debt and dodging creditors. His father, a retired schoolteacher and fiancee are made to suffer the consequences of his financial instability. He is constantly being told off and being forced to kill himself in shame. Jeetu decides to fake his death so that his family gets to claim his life insurance to pay off erstwhile debts.
Two bumbling fishermen, played by Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav, find Jeetu entangled in fishing nets and take him with them. They owe money to a businessman, Prabhat Singh Chauhan (Om Puri) and mistaking him to be a millionaire, hatch a scheme to give Jeetu's services to Chauhan in exchange for the money they owe.
Sensing that he may reveal too much, Jeetu plays safe and pretends to be a deaf-mute and plays along with them. Complications ensue when Chauhan's niece, Shruti (Kareena Kapoor) also turns out to be deaf-mute. Jeetu's secret is revealed one night when Shruti and her cousin, Meenakshi (Neha Dhupia) find him in a state of high inebriation.