Orphaned when his mother dies of starvation, Babu (Akshay Kumar) is taken in by Sultan, an ambitious local criminal. Sultan has gathered a group of boys, lead by his nephew Abdul, who he trains to work for him. Babu grows up to become "Badshah", a professional criminal working for Sultan. After having robbed a jewellery store, Badshah and Abdul are chased by police but manage to escape. The next day Badshah sees Sapna (Karishma Kapoor), a poor street performer, singing and dancing for money. Badshah gives her a large amount of money in order to replace her ripped and old clothes, and Sapna becomes interested in him. Returning home, Badshah finds Inspector Pradhan waiting for him, and the two threaten each other, engaging in a war of words ending with the Inspector vowing to put an end to Badshah's criminal activities. During a weapons exchange, Badshah and Abdul are intercepted by police and a chase ensues. Badshah is shot in the arm and the chaos causes both their vehicles to crash. Inspector Pradhan becomes trapped in his car, and Badshah helps him get out. Despite having been saved, the Inspector tries to arrest Badshah, who manages to escape, but is injured badly.