Raghuvaran [Dhanush] is a civil engineering graduate who has been unemployed for four years. He remains determined to work in a job related to his field and refuses to take any other kind of work. He constantly clashes with his father, Samuthirakani Krishnamoorthy, who sees him as irresponsible, while his younger brother Karthik Hrishikesh is employed in an IT company and earns well, earning their father’s approval. Raghuvaran’s mother, Saranya Ponvannan Bhuvana, stands by her son and offers steadfast support. Raghuvaran falls for his neighbor’s daughter, Shalini Amala Paul, who initially hates him but softens after hearing about the difficulties Raghuvaran faces, and she eventually reciprocates his affection.
One day, while Raghuvaran’s father and Karthik are away, Raghuvaran is asked to look after his mother, who has a heart condition. He ends up going out on a date with Shalini, and he ignores his mother’s continuous phone calls despite Shalini’s insistence on answering. When he returns home, he discovers that his mother has died of a heart attack. The loss overwhelms him with guilt and triggers a period of depression. Meanwhile, Bhuvana’s lungs are transplanted into Anitha, a chain smoker who develops lung cancer. Anitha’s father Ramkumar [M. J. Shriram]—the chairman of a civil engineering company in Chennai—offers Raghuvaran a job as a token of gratitude for saving his daughter’s life. Raghuvaran accepts the position and also requests that Anitha stop smoking, which she agrees to.
Six months later, Raghuvaran is assigned a government project to construct high-rise flats to re-house people living in a nearby slum. Azhagusundaram [Vivek] and Manikkam [Cell Murugan] are appointed as Raghuvaran’s assistants. Raghuvaran successfully wins the contract and begins work promptly, proving his capability on the site.
Arun Subramaniam, a business novice who has taken over his father’s Chennai branch, bids for the same contract using illegal methods. Furious at not getting the land, he tries to thwart Raghuvaran’s progress in a number of ways. Raghuvaran overcomes each obstacle and pushes forward, but Arun hires rowdies to beat up Raghuvaran’s workers at the construction site. The workers are injured and end up in the hospital, which prompts Raghuvaran to confront Arun at his office. A microspy camera records Arun confessing that he sent the rowdies, and Raghuvaran uses the footage as leverage, demanding an apology from Arun. Fearing the damage to his reputation, Arun’s father Venkat arranges for an apology; Raghuvaran accepts, and the project continues, ultimately completing within ten months.
On the day of the flats’ inauguration, Arun and a gang ambush Raghuvaran on his way to the site. Raghuvaran outsmarts them and, instead of seeking revenge, expresses a desire to be Arun’s friend. He then takes Arun to the site on his moped, where the state public works minister and Anitha join in inaugurating the flats.
