| Director | C. V. Sridhar |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
Ramu (R. Muthuraman) leads a middle-class family while supporting his retired father Sarangapani, younger brother Babu (Gemini Ganesan), and younger sister Lakshmi (L. Vijayalakshmi). On a dare from his college mates, Babu successfully woos Radha (Devika), the daughter of their former schoolteacher Rathnavel (V. S. Raghavan). But at this point, Ramu's unemployment plunges the family into financial distress. As a result, Babu is forced to abandon his studies and love life to take up a job.
Meanwhile, Lakshmi falls in love and gets married. Babu’s honest act of returning a lost purse to a retired judge leads to a marriage proposal for Babu with the judge’s daughter, Indira Devi—whose seizure episodes are hidden by Sarangapani from Babu for the family’s sake.
Rathnavel proposes Radha’s marriage to Babu, but Sarangapani rejects it. Pressured by his family, Babu agrees to marry Indira Devi, but the marriage is called off when she has a seizure on the wedding day. Babu continues to sacrifice, giving his bonus money to his sister’s husband for a job deposit.
Balaji, a friend of Nagesh and Rathnavel’s relative, offers Babu a job, but Ramu takes it to reclaim his breadwinner role. A dejected Babu resigns and isolates himself, ignoring his family’s pleas to return.
As Radha’s wedding to Balaji nears, Lakshmi persuades Radha to reconsider her love for Babu. Balaji agrees to cancel the wedding. But Babu, unaware of this, leaves his family. He sends a letter to Ramu explaining his decision. Ramu, finding out from the letter's postmark that Babu is in Kodaikanal, takes Rathnavel and Radha to Kodaikanal in search of Babu.
In Kodaikanal, the trio's car is delayed by a herd of cattle. Then comes a procession of about 40 Catholic priests approaching the town's famed La Saleth Church, reciting the Lord's Prayer in English. As the priests move to a post-confessional prayer, Radha is shocked to see that Babu is one among them. Babu too spots the trio and looks at them stoically for a while. He then moves on, joining in the procession's recital of the Ignatian Suscipe and another portion of the post-confessional prayer. The film ends with a shot of the church’s altar.