In a typical college in a typical Indian city, the hostel boys Madan Sharma (Aamir Khan) and his friends including Ranjeet Prakash (Ashutosh Gowariker) are a rowdy and troublesome lot. But on one day, when Madan and his friends find out there will not be a holiday for them on the day of Holi, the festival of colors, the boys decide not to attend classes. The hostel superintendent Professor Singh (Naseeruddin Shah), the only lecturer with some links with the students, watches with apprehension their growing restlessness. A notice announcing a further postponement of examinations adds to the bitterness.