The film is about a man called Sannasi, who heads Thara Thappattai, a Karagattam troupe. Tharai Thappattai exposes how this art is slowly dying, and why we are all the worse for it.

Pulavar Samy (G.M.Kumar) an unsuccessful musician who wastes his life with the bottle, his teetotaler son Sannaasi (Sasikumar) who is the head of a 'Tharai Thappattai' music and dance troupe and the alcoholic Sooravali (Varalakshmi Sarathkumar) the lead dancer who has the temper of a man but is in love with Sannasi and has a soft corner for Pulavar Samy. A fan of Sooravali, Karuppiah (R.K. Suresh) proposes marriage to Sooravali through Sannasi and her mother, who is impressed with his government job and his decent behavior gets Sannasi to convince the girl to agree and what happens next forms the rest of the story.—Balaji

Sannasi & Sooravali belong to a group of people from Padithuraiin Thanjavur who make a living by practicing the folk art of 'Karagattam'. While Sooravali is head over heels in love with Sannasi he doesn't openly reciprocate her feelings but still loves her from within. However, when a young government employee approaches them with a proposal asking for Sooravali's hand a chain of events are set in motion that has disastrous consequences.—PipingHotViews