The film opens into the life of Ammaiyappan Mudaliar, an ordinary middle-class man who makes a simple living as a Central Government clerk. His family, a typical South Indian joint family, includes his dutiful wife Godavari, his oldest son Chidambaram, a junior officer at Indian Oil, and his wife Uma, his second son Siva, a factory worker, his youngest son Bharathi and his daughter Sarojini., The film opens into the life of Ammaiyappan Mudaliar, an ordinary middle-class man who makes a simple living as a Central Government clerk. His family, a typical South Indian joint family, includes his dutiful wife Godavari, his oldest son Chidambaram a junior officer at Indian Oil, and his wife Uma, his second son Siva, a factory worker, his youngest son Bharathi and his daughter Sarojini. The modest income from his government job barely provides for his family’s needs.