Vaidehi Kathirunthal 1984

Vellaisamy, Vijayakanth, is an unkempt derelict who lives by the village temple, taking on menial jobs to survive, yet he hides an impressive singing ability that hints at a gentler soul beneath his rough exterior.

Vaidehi, Revathi, is a young widow who lives in the village with her sorrowing, alcoholic father T. S. Raghavendra. Minutes after Vaidehi’s marriage, the groom and his parents die in a boat accident, and the village ostracizes her, forbidding her from practicing dance, a talent she once prized. Her father, though wealthy, turns to drinking upon seeing his daughter’s fate.

One day, the village hears rumors when Vellaisamy is spotted scribbling Vaidehi’s name on the temple walls. When a distressed Vaidehi confronts him about the act, he reveals a long, painful past and the loss of the woman named Vaidehi that still haunts him.

Vellaisamy and his widowed mother had lived in another village. His cousin Vaidehi, who was raised with him, had hoped to marry him. Despite being in love with Vaidehi, Vellaisamy neglected her for amusement. After buying wedding jewels for Vaidehi, he plays one final, cruel prank by telling her that he is engaged to someone else. Distraught, Vaidehi eats poisonous seeds and dies in Vellaisamy’s arms. Within weeks, Vellaisamy’s mother also dies. He gives his properties to the poor and moves to his current village to seek closure.

In the present, Vellaisamy and Vaidehi share a mutual respect for their melancholic lives, and they realize they must work together to shield Nataraj and Sengamalam, a young couple in love, from the village’s wrath. The danger escalates as Sengamalam’s ruthless brother Vellikizhamai Ramasamy, [Radha Ravi], and his goons close in, threatening the fragile union they all seek to protect. In the brutal melee that follows, Vellaisamy is killed by Ramasamy’s gang, but the young lovers are ultimately united, while Vaidehi remains alone with the echoes of the past.