Raja (Kunal Singh) is from a very poor, illiterate family, from Tamil Nadu (in the Hindi version he is from Allahabad). People from his region consider that "education is meant only for the rich". There, poor boys are made to work from age 5, either at factories or farms, so that they can support their families. But, Raja's mother forced his father to let Raja study up-to class 2, without any work. But he refuses to fund him, and orders him to start work as accountant for their landlord. Raja's dad is violent and an alcoholic. He spends the family's income on alcohol. Raja's family struggles to work hard everyday. Raja's mom begs him to move to Mumbai to start a new life. Raja heeds his mom's pleas and moves to Mumbai to attend Ramachandra Institute of Management Studies, the top-most premier b-school in India.