In the year 1990, "The Great Indian Circus" owned by Iqbal Haroon Khan (Jackie Shroff) in Chicago, Illinois gets closed when he is unable to repay his loan. Sahir, his little son, pleads that the two would soon turn the corner. But Iqbal's rejected and commits suicide in front of the heartless bank leader Anderson. Twenty-three years later, Sahir (Aamir Khan) robs various branches of the Western Bank of Chicago. Despite all efforts of law enforcement, the robbery isn't foiled, and he successfully gets away. Officer Victoria (Tabrett Bethell) calls ACP Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) and his partner, Sub-Inspector Ali Akbar Fateh Khan (Uday Chopra), for help in solving the case. Jai baits Sahir into robbing again by making it known he's on the case and that the thief's an amateur. On the other hand, Sahir starts the Great Indian Circus again, which was closed due to Iqbal's death. That is where he appoints Aaliya Hussain (Katrina Kaif), a new acrobat in his circus. Sahir poses as an informant for Jai, and manages to gather information on the bank while giving Jai a lead to follow. Eventually, Sahir robs the bank and escapes, but Jai and Ali follow him. Jai, while hanging on a helicopter ladder, manages to shoot Sahir on the left shoulder before he disappears.