Phata Poster Nikhla Hero is a story of a boy named Vishwas, brought up in a small town with dreams of being a film hero, while his mother, Savitri, always dreamt of him becoming an honest police inspector. Vishwas, now a grown man, comes to Mumbai for an interview in the Police Service. But his mind still had the suppressed dreams of making it big in Bollywood. His passion for stardom leads him to a wannabe writer named Jogi, who is a hoax and struggling writer in debt. Jogi, along with his troupe of struggling actors get Vishwas a small role in a film. Thus, Vishwas begins his journey to stardom. Just as Vishwas begins of big stardom, a very sweet girl named Kajal walks into his life, turning his whole plan upside down. Vishwas now must pretend to be someone he is not for the sake of the girl and for his mother who wants him to be a police officer.