Marthandan lives with his parents in a palace. He sets out to Chennai to find a girl. There he meets "Idea Mani" (Goundamani), who is very cunning and tries to make money from the innocent Marthandan in comical ways. He meets a girl (Kushboo) in a bakery and befriends her. The rest of the story is about how he tries to win her over and how he understands the value of money.