The story revolves around the life of a barber named Balan (Sreenivasan (actor)) in a small village called Melukavu in Kerala. The barber is financially constrained and has to raise a family with three children. His wife Sridevi (Meena Durairaj) is beautiful and belongs to a high caste who had eloped with him. He is not able to cope with the competition from a new air-conditioned beauty salon/parlor opened by Sarasan (Jagadeesh), opposite his shop. He does not get a license or a loan for the salon. He is in debt and is ridiculed by everyone in the village. Life is tough for him – he does not have money for a full square meal, leave alone for his children's school fees