After the passing of his parents, Karan resides with his Mumbai-based Chacha, who lives a middle-classed existence with his wife and 2 children. An Engineering student, Karan enrolls himself in Satara's Jaigarh University and gets a room in a hostel. Upon his arrival itself he is subjected to extortion by a male named Akshay and dozens of senior-year males. When he resists, he is beaten and taken before their ring-leader, Feroz, who has deliberately been unsuccessful in his exams so that he can continue to live a lush life, is politically well-connected, and is expected to stand for local elections, and beaten even more in the presence of the hostel Warden, Sharad Saxena. He is unable to focus on his studies due to frequent beatings and public humiliations. He finds romance in the company of gorgeous Payal & moral support from fellow-victims, Vishnu Pandey, Bobby, and Nilesh. After a physical confrontation with Akshay, Feroz decides to leave Karan alone but continues ragging others with impunity. One year later, new-comers, including impoverished Pawan Mehta, are 'welcomed' by Feroz. Karan finds out about Pawan's plight and decides to intervene - and it is this intervention that will pit him not only against an enraged Feroz but his very own friends - who now believe that 'ragging' results in attaining 'manhood'.
