| Director | Gnana Rajasekaran |
|---|---|
| Genre | biographical film |
| Country | India |
The film follows Periyar right from childhood to his marriage to Nagammal to his pilgrimage to Kashi. The pilgrimage exposes him to the cruelty of the caste system, particularly after witnessing choultries that exclusively fed Brahmins, forbidding other Hindu castes. Having starved severely, Periyar found no better way than to enter a choultry by disguising himself with the appearance of a Brahmin wearing a thread on his bare chest. However, he is caught, and becomes disgusted with life in Kashi. Periyar returns and joins his father's business and later becomes the Chairman of the Erode Municipality. Later, he resigns from this post and joins the freedom struggle. He becomes the President of Madras Presidency Congress Committee and participates in the Vaikom struggle. Later, he quits the Congress party on failing to introduce reservations, and joins the Justice Party. He would go on to transform the Justice Party as Dravidar Kazhagam. His role in the Anti-Hindi agitation, his second marriage, the formation of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) by his lieutenant C. N. Annadurai, until Periyar's death are the subject of the rest of the film.