Sankarabharanam

Shankara Sastri is a widower and one of the era's most popular Carnatic singers, celebrated for his mastery of raga Sankarabharanam. He commands large crowds and has built a lasting reputation that anchors the social world around classical music.

On a riverside morning, Tulasi watches Sastri teaching his daughter and is moved by his singing. She dances out of pure admiration, and Sastri notices her sincerity and continues singing, unswayed by the display.

During a train journey, Tulasi hides in Sastri's compartment and travels with him for a while. Her mother later tracks her down, publicly accusing Sastri of manipulating and eloping with her daughter, setting a precarious mark on both their lives.

A deal is struck with a wealthy landlord who visits Tulasi, signaling his presence in her life. He rapes her, exploiting her vulnerability and the social stigma surrounding her situation.

Enraged by the assault, Tulasi uses a shard from a broken photo frame to stab the landlord, killing him and shattering any remnants of safety around her.

At the murder trial, Sastri enlists a trusted lawyer friend to defend Tulasi. Tulasi's mother is jailed for prostitution, and Tulasi herself is acquitted but left homeless, with rumors circulating that she has become Sastri's mistress.

A decade passes as pop music rises and classical music wanes, leaving Sastri in a smaller, poorer existence with his daughter. Tulasi has inherited her mother's property and has a ten-year-old son, the result of the earlier tragedy.

Tulasi decides to make her son Sastri's disciple, disguising him as a homeless servant who enters Sastri's household to learn from the master he reveres.

Tulasi arranges for a concert on the day of Sarada's wedding, in a newly built auditorium she names for her mentor. The event is designed to re-center Sastri's influence in a changing musical world.

Sastri sings at the concert but suffers a heart attack part-way through. His disciple, the pretend-servant, takes over from the sidelines and continues the song with growing resolve.

As the performance unfolds, Sastri realizes the boy is Tulasi's son and is filled with a quiet pride. A doctor arrives, but Sastri declines treatment, accepting the end; the son completes the song, and Sastri symbolically bequeaths his aabharanam before dying.

Tulasi rushes to Sastri's side and dies at his feet, a tragic yet uplifting culmination of their intertwined lives. The film closes with Sastri's daughter and her husband taking charge of Tulasi's son, ensuring his future in a changing world.