Lovers Sethu and Ranjani arrive at a cliff, where they plan to commit suicide due to opposition to their planned marriage from Ranjani's parents, who rejected Sethu, the son of a drunkard cook, as groom. Ranjani's parents threatened they would kill Sethu or commit suicide. Both Sethu and Ranjani jump from the cliff; Sethu becomes trapped in a tree and survives while Ranjani dies. Despite Ranjani's father's attempts to have Sethu jailed by framing him for having killed Ranjani, there is no evidence to prove it. Sethu is arrested for having attempted suicide.

A year later, Sethu is released. His aunt Padmini, who owns a dance school, provides him a job of dance instructor. Sethu regularly visits the cliff in remembrance of Ranjani. On his way there, he sees a girl who attempts suicide and stops her. He later meets the girl in a gallery; when where she introduces herself as Malini, Sethu ignores her. Malini again meets Sethu at a tourist spot where she photographs him without his knowledge. Sethu realises this and destroys her camera. Malini chases Sethu to his school as his student. Sethu repeatedly insults Malini but she falls in love with him.

Malini coincidentally meets Sethu's uncle "Chaplin" Chellapa, who dresses like Charlie Chaplin, and learns of Sethu's failed relationship, which increases her affection for Sethu. Chellapa helps her to win Sethu's affection. Malini is Sinhalese, because of which she faces trouble from her classmates, from which Sethu rescues her. Though Sethu regularly humiliates Malini, he begins to like her, and later realises he has started to love her. At the cliff, Sethu takes a sign of blessing from Ranjani for his new love from Ranjani, and confesses his love for Malini and proposes to her.

Malini continues to spend time with Chellapa, whose sense of humour she enjoys. This makes Sethu jealous so he attempts to mimic Chellapa's mannerisms but injures himself. Sethu finds out about Chellapa's own failed relationship, which he tried to forget by wearing a mask of Chaplin. Sethu and Malini unite Chellapa with his former lover Padmini, who never married. Sethu again experiences pressure from Malini's father because Malini is Sinhalese and Sethu is Tamilian. Malini travels from Sri Lanka to Tamil Nadu to join Sethu. Understanding the tight bond between Malini and Sethu, Malini's father approves their marriage.

Ranjani's father hears about Sethu's marriage and wants to take revenge for his daughter's death. On the day of Sethu's engagement, he gives Sethu's father a basket of apples in which a time bomb is placed, pretending it is a gift for his son. Sethu's father places the basket in Chellapa's car, in which Sethu and Malini leave to visit Sethu's cliff. Learning of the bomb's presence, Sethu's father and Chellapa try to stop Sethu and Malini but the explosion kills the couple. Chellapa places flowers on the place of their deaths.