Ghulam means a slave. Sidharth (Aamir Khan) is an amateur boxer who does not work, preferring to loaf about with friends. His older brother Jai (Rajit Kapoor) works with a gangster who rules the neighborhood, terrorizing merchants and demanding protection money. As a child Sidharth idolized his father, an ex-freedom fighter, whom he saw committing suicide in guilt after a visit from an old acquaintance. Sidharth meets a girl, Alisha (Rani Mukerji), who rides with a motorcycle gang, and Hari, a social worker. The film tells the story of Sidharth's romance with Alisha and his reformation.