Pooveli 1998

The film opens with the main characters revealing their thoughts on love. Maha believes love must come before marriage, while Shalini feels love belongs after the wedding. Chidambaram Pillai is openly opposed to love, and Murali is for it.

Murali follows [Shalini], expressing his love. But when she insults his love, he promises he wouldn’t trouble her again, certain that one day she would understand him and come to him. He runs into Maha, his classmate at school, who has recently lost her lover in an accident. To force her father to accept her love, she had already told him that she was married. Circumstances force her uncle to think Murali is her husband and they go back to her village.

Their plan is for Murali to earn the displeasure of Maha’s family so that he can leave, but his plans backfire and earn him their love and affection. As he continues living there, he starts to like having a family around and also falls in love with Maha. The only black sheep in their family is Anandaraj, who keeps troubling them.

Maha’s grandmother Manorama finds out the arrangement between her and Murali, but since she likes Murali, plays a trick to get them both married.

Shalini, who has meanwhile developed feelings for Murali, shows up at the village before the wedding, creating doubts in the minds of the others. This leads to some confusion and problems, which are cleared in the climax.