Gopi and Hari, two unemployed graduates, share a room in Madras. While Gopi is looking for a job, Hari, a harmonium player, aspires to become a music composer in the film industry. They both manage to make ends meet with the help of their friends. Their neighbour is Prabhu, a college student who spends all his time smoking, painting and singing. A new family relocates to their apartment. The couple have a daughter Mahalakshmi. Prabhu and Maha both study in the same college and become good friends. Prabhu decides to apprentice under a veena exponent, but the exponent dies before he joins the class.

Gopi takes tuition for Maha and they both fall in love. During this time, Gopi, Hari, and Prabhu get arrested for different reasons. Maha pledges her chain and takes them out on bail. In an attempt to reform, Prabhu goes to meet his college principal, but gets dismissed from the college after impulsively slapping him for extinguishing his cigarette on a flower. He gets scolded by his father, but Maha becomes very supportive to him. Prabhu assumes that she loves him. During this time Maha's parents force her to discontinue her tuition as some of their relatives suspect she and Gopi are in a relationship. Hari gets a break in films and gets an advance payment of money from the producers. Using the sum, they return Maha's chain. By this time, Maha's parents start looking for a groom for her.

Maha meets Gopi and advises him to find a job so that they can marry. Things start to take a turn for the worse when Hari is dropped from the film because the financier of the film feels having a newcomer is not a good idea. Gopi and Hari are evicted from their room for not paying the rent, and seek shelter with Mani, a rickshaw puller. Gopi gets a telegram informing him that his father is dead. To bear Gopi's travel expenses, Mani's son Singam goes out, but meets with an accident. Hari tries to make money by becoming a street performer but fails. Gopi approaches a moneylender to borrow money for Singam's treatment. The moneylender talks ill about Singam, angering Gopi into stabbing the moneylender and taking his money. When he arrives, he sees that Singam is dead.

Meanwhile, Maha's parents arrange a marriage for her. When she meets Prabhu, he confesses his love for her. A shocked Maha informs him that she never loved him, only Gopi. Prabhu is disappointed and feels life has ditched him as every single moment. He tries to molest Maha but is stopped when she takes a knife and threatens that she will kill herself. Prabhu feels guilty, takes the knife and stabs himself to death. By this time, Gopi arrives at her house and informs her that he has killed the moneylender for money. They both go a step ahead and marry each other. The next day they are arrested for the deaths of Prabhu and the moneylender. Hari throws his harmonium in the sea and becomes insane.

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