Suryamurthy and Thillai are siblings. They were expelled from their home by their stepmother Chinnamma at a young age. The siblings worked hard to come up in life. Many years later, Suryamurthy looks for a groom for his sister and finds Kathalingam, who is from another village. So Suryamurthy inquires the villagers about Kathalingam's character, and everyone praised Kathalingam, but they lied. Kathalingam is actually a bad person and drunkard, and he has an affair with the village belle Valli. Without knowing the truth, Kathalingam and Thillai get married. Finally, Thillai and Suryamurthy realize that Kathalingam is a bad person, but it was too late. In the meantime, Suryamurthy and Kathalingam's sister Mallika fall in love with each other; however, Thillai warns him about the consequence of this love on her married life. After a misunderstanding, Mallika begins to hate the honest Suryamurthy. When Kathalingam prepares the wedding between Mallika and a well-educated bride, the wedding is cancelled. The bride's family refuses to marry the bride to a woman who had an affair with Suryamurthy. Kathalingam gets angry and brutally beats Thillai in front of her brother. Suryamurthy begs him to leave her in peace, but Kathalingam refuses, and Suryamurthy is forced to beat Kathalingam in turn. Suryamurthy cannot bear the pain endured by his sister and kidnaps Mallika to stop this cruelty. Kathalingam decides to live with Valli. What transpires next forms the rest of the story.
Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist – Arivumathi
Soundtrack
The film score and the soundtrack were composed by film composer Ilaiyaraaja. The soundtrack, released in 1998, features 8 tracks with lyrics written by Arivumathi, Palani Bharathi and Vasan.
Track
Song
Singer
Duration
1
'Akka Nee Sirichcha'
Bhavatharini
5:03
2
'Kathunkuyilae'
Sadhana Sargam
4:53
3
'Koodapporantha'
Ilaiyaraaja
5:05
4
'Oru Katthirikka'
Ilaiyaraaja
5:05
5
'Poo Nilavondru'
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
5:15
6
'Poongaatrae'
Bhavatharini
4:44
7
'Vayasupulla'
Sadhana Sargam
5:25
8
'Yennoda Ulagam'
Ilaiyaraaja
5:08
Reception
Indolink.com gave the film a positive review praising the lead actors of the film and citing that the film was a "must watch".