Arjun Reddy is a final-year student at St. Mary's Medical College in Mangalore, India. He is one of its house surgeons who, despite being a brilliant student, has severe anger management problems that earn the wrath of the dean of the college. Arjun's aggressive nature also earns him a reputation among his juniors as a college bully. After having a brawl alongside his friend Kamal against members of the opposing team during an inter-college association football match, the dean asks Arjun to either apologise or leave the college. Arjun initially chooses the latter but stays back after meeting first-year student Preethi Shetty.