Missamma

Gopalam, the zamindar of Appapuram, establishes a high school named after his elder daughter Mahalakshmi. The name and purpose tie to Mahalakshmi's disappearance during a pilgrimage in Kakinada. He also plans that the school should train his younger daughter Sita in traditional music and dance.

The school soon suffers due to mismanagement by Gopalam's nephew A. K. Raju, who is an amateur detective, and Panthulu, an ayurvedic doctor and teacher who exploits students for medicines. Their motives undermine discipline and learning. The atmosphere deteriorates as resources dwindle.

To stabilize the school, Gopalam decides to replace the ineffective staff with a married pair of male and female graduates. He also hopes this new arrangement will help train his younger daughter Sita. The plan is meant to restore order and discipline.

Mahalakshmi is found and adopted by a Christian couple in Madras who name her Mary. The backstory shows she grows up away from her biological family and carries this hidden past with her. Her education completes, and she starts looking for work to ease her family's finances.

After graduation, Mary tries to find employment but faces financial pressure from a loan taken by her father from I. P. David, the loan shark. David offers to waive the debt if she marries him. She considers the proposal as part of a plan to secure her family's finances.

To repay the debt and secure a livelihood, Mary teams up with unemployed graduate M. T. Rao to pretend they are a married couple. Their ruse is designed to qualify for jobs at Gopalam's school in Appapuram. They move to the town under this cover.

Devayya befriends Rao and becomes a helper and cook for the couple, accompanying them to Appapuram. He and Rao reside in a small house behind Gopalam's bungalow, adding another layer to the introduced family dynamic. They adapt to their new roles.

Gopalam and his wife treat Rao and Mary as if they were their daughter and son-in-law. Mary remains unaware of her true identity, yet she feels constrained by the Hindu customs and needs the job. Rao becomes a confidant, while Mary quietly contends with her growing resentment.

Sita starts lessons with Rao and innocently seeks his attention through music, which heightens Mary's discomfort and jealousy. Mary misinterprets Sita's relationship with Rao, fueling tension between the two women. The conflict complicates their already fragile arrangement.

Mary decides to reveal her true identity to Gopalam and his wife, but Rao fabricates a story that Mary is possessed by the soul of Mary, mother of Jesus to keep the job secure. The fake possession delays her confession and deepens the deception. Their ruse buys time but unsettles her.

Raju, who loves Sita, grows suspicious that Mary is the missing Mahalakshmi. He and his assistant Govindan sneak into Mary's room to verify the mole on her right foot, but the plan backfires when they wake her. A dream in which Rao rescues her further fuels Mary's emerging feelings.

At the end of the first month at the school, Rao and Mary receive their salaries and Mary finally repays the debt to David. The monetary reset provides temporary relief but does not resolve the underlying identity questions. Their working arrangement continues to blur personal lines.

David arrives in Appapuram and asserts that Mary, being a Christian, is posing as a Hindu for the job. Raju retrieves a necklace David had stolen from Mary's Madras home, a piece connected to Mahalakshmi's disappearance when she was a child. The necklace reinforces the link between Mary and her past.

Mary confesses her love for Rao as the tension with David escalates. The Pauls also appear, and Raju solves the mystery surrounding Mahalakshmi. David is arrested, clearing the immediate threat to Mary and Rao's future. Mary learns about her biological parents.

With the danger resolved, Gopalam announces plans for the wedding of Rao and Mary, and also for Sita and Raju. The community looks forward to new beginnings for the school and its people. Mary embraces her foster family while discovering her biological ties.