This movie was a tribute to R. D. Burman. Jhankaar Beats is a story about love, friendship, and music.

Deep (Sanjay Suri) is happily married to the lovely Shanti (Juhi Chawla), with a little daughter Muskaan and another baby on the way. Rishi (Rahul Bose) is his best friend and colleague at an advertising agency. Rishi is a little immature and stubborn, and this keeps on causing fights at home with his equally headstrong wife Nicky (Rinke Khanna). Rishi and Deep are dedicated musicians, obsessive about the music of R.D. Burman. They play at a club sometimes and compete in an annual pop music contest called "Jhankaar Beats" — they have lost for the past two years.

When the movie starts, Rishi has been kicked out of his house by Nicky and the two are considering getting a divorce. Deep's nagging mother-in-law has come for a two-month visit. The men are under pressure to get an advertising campaign ready for a new client, an oddball condom manufacturer. Around this time they meet Indraneel (Shayan Munshi, Neel for short), who is the son of their boss Mr. Kapoor and is joining the company. Neel is an ace guitarist who has his own problems — he is attracted to a pretty girl, Preeti (Riya Sen) but cannot muster the courage to talk to her. To make things worse, his father has decided that he is wasting his life and has given him an ultimatum — find a girl in two months or settle down with a wife his parents choose. Rishi and Deep, though they tease him mercilessly, grow very fond of Neel, and he has a sure ally in Shanti. Shanti, meanwhile, is trying to get Rishi to see sense and make up with Nicky.

There are a host of colourful supporting characters, among them a newlywed couple living above Deep's flat, Nicky's handsome lawyer, and the very sexy owner of a rival advertising agency. How they resolve all their issues forms the rest of the story.

• Juhi Chawla as Shanti
• Sanjay Suri as Deep
• Rahul Bose as Rishi
• Shayan Munshi as Indraneil "Neel" Kapoor
• Rinke Khanna as Nicky
• Riya Sen as Preeti
• Archana Puran Singh as Rival Company Manager
• Vijayendra Ghatge as Mr. Kapoor
• Ikraa Khatri as Muskaan
• Raja Vaid as Vijay
• Kurush Deboo as Mr. Deboo, Absent-minded Divorced Lawyer of Rishi

The music for all the songs were composed by Vishal-Shekhar and the lyrics for this film were by penned by Vishal Dadlani.