The story is about three sisters Srividya, Subha and Jayachitra, each getting attracted to their tenant, a young man played by Sivakumar. Sivakumar falls in love with Jayachitra. However, things take a turn to the worse in the typical Balachander style when Jayachitra sacrifices herself to the whims of a playboy, played by Kamal Haasan in order to save her friend (Jayasudha) from his exploits. What happens next, who marries whom, is the crux of a dramatic climax. The movie turns the entire concept of romantic movies by its head - the concept being that the hero does not always have to get the girl.