Naive Ajay Anand (Rishi Kapoor) first few days in a hostel are marred by bullying at the hands of Vikram (Rakesh Roshan) and his friends. Eventually this leads to a fight and then to a strong friendship between the two as Ajay is admitted to this group. Vikram's pastime is mainly playing practical jokes and tricks. One day they decide to play such a trick on Ghanshyamdas Johari (Jankidas) demanding a ransom of 5 000 rupees using the name of ""Black Cobra"". They get the money but Ghanshyamdas is killed the next day. The police are on their tracks and so is the mysterious ""Black Cobra"" who is real and not a figment of imagination!