Sumaithaangi 1962

Ramu, R. Muthuraman, leads a close‑knit middle‑class family, holding the reins for a household that includes his retired father, Sarangapani, K. Sarangapani, and his siblings: his younger brother Babu, Gemini Ganesan, who is full of promise, and his younger sister Lakshmi, L. Vijayalakshmi. On a dare from college mates, Babu wins over Radha, Devika, the daughter of their former schoolteacher Rathnavel, V. S. Raghavan. But Ramu’s sudden unemployment plummets the family into financial distress, forcing Babu to abandon his studies and even his love life in order to take up a job and keep the home afloat.

Meanwhile, Lakshmi’s own path advances as she marries, and Babu’s honest act of returning a lost purse to a retired judge opens a possible match with the judge’s daughter, Indira Devi, K. R. Indira Devi — whose seizure episodes are quietly hidden by Sarangapani for the family’s sake. Rathnavel proposes Radha’s marriage to Babu, but the elder Sarangapani rejects the arrangement. Pressured by kin and duty, Babu agrees to the Indira Devi match, yet the wedding is called off on the day of the ceremony when she suffers a seizure. In the meantime, Babu keeps sacrificing, even giving his bonus money to his sister’s husband to help with a job deposit.

Balaji, K. Balaji, a friend of Nagesh and Rathnavel’s relative, offers Babu another job lead, but Ramu steps in to reclaim the breadwinner role, taking the opportunity for himself. This move leaves Babu dejected, withdrawing from public life and retreating from the family’s pleas for reconciliation. As Radha’s wedding to Balaji draws near, Lakshmi persuades Radha to reconsider her love for Babu. Balaji agrees to cancel the wedding, but Babu, unaware of this, leaves his family behind. He writes a letter to Ramu explaining his decision, and Ramu learns from the postmark that Babu has traveled to Kodaikanal with Rathnavel and Radha in pursuit of clarity.

In Kodaikanal, the family’s return is hindered by a herd of cattle blocking their path, followed by a dramatic procession—about 40 Catholic priests marching toward the town’s La Saleth Church. They recite the Lord’s Prayer in English as they move toward a post‑confessional prayer. Radha, watching, is stunned to recognize Babu among the clergy. Babu, equally aware of them, regards them with a calm, almost stoic gaze before joining in the procession’s recital of the Ignatian Suscipe and another segment of the post‑confessional prayer. The film closes with a solemn shot of the church altar, leaving the audience to ponder the threads that tie the family together, even when paths diverge.