The story begins with a family man, (Thengai Srinivasan), who has a wife and 4 children. He values the present moment and wants to lead a luxurious life along with his family. He spends a lot of his earnings rather than saving. Suddenly, one day, when his eldest son is just 6 years old, he dies in a road accident after getting heavily drunk. The eldest boy, Santhanam (Rajnikanth), visits his father's boss and asks for a job. He gets a job at the printing press and learns a trade running the printing press. He also does many other odd jobs. He aspires to give his siblings the comfort that his father wanted for his family.