Balu (Vijay) comes to Chennai from Coimbatore and stays with his friend Gopal (Goundamani), who claims he has a job. Actually, he is also unemployed. Both of them are tenants of a girl named Sumithra (Sanghavi). First, Balu and Sumithra get into fights, but then their arguments and fights turn into love. Meanwhile, Sumithra's cousin Mahesh (Karan) is also in love with her. One day, Balu witnesses a thief stealing a necklace, and when he tries to catch him, the thief inserts the necklace in Balu's pocket, and Balu is blamed for stealing it. Sumithra starts hating Balu. Taking advantage of this situation, Mahesh creates a rift between them by hiring goons to attack them, and he blames Balu for that too. Balu explains his sad story to her grandmother Paattiamma (Nirmalamma) that he lost his mother during small age and could not endure the torture of his stepmother, so he escaped from home. Paatiamma believes him, but Mahesh takes revenge by setting up wires and making her paralyzed. In the hospital, Sumithra overhears Mahesh and his father (Vinu Chakravarthy) wanting to kill her to steal their colony. Balu pays the medical bills and attempts to commit suicide, but Sumithra saves him. Mahesh, who tried to kill him, is killed in a stampede. The film ends with Balu and Sumithra living happily.