Vishnu is part of a local circus group. On one of their tours, Vishnu meets a girl and his life changes forever.

A spoilt rich man Kuttapayi befriends a group of four college students. Kuttapayi uses them to do a lot of his dirty work. When things go awry they take refuge in Kuttapayi's remote estate; where his past catches up with him.

The film starts in the early 1950s showing Sreedharan, the protagonist, as a very popular communist leader and trade union activist. He is forced to go underground after his name was associated with the murder of the owner of a tile factory. He is considered to be dead by his party and they even erect a memorial for him. But he makes an unexpected comeback almost 10 years later, after the first communist ministry gained and lost power in Kerala and after the Communist Party of India has split. On his return, he spends his time sleeping and drinking. His come back is first a puzzle and then an embarrassment to his comrades and family. As the disappointment on his new face grows, he is found murdered. The film ends when both the communist parties jointly celebrate his martyrdom.

Aryan movie is all about Devanarayan (Mohanlal) who is a Brahmin priest who is falsely accused of theft and forced to leave his village in Kerala. He moves to Bombay where he gets drawn into the underworld through an ageing don Kareem (Goga Kapoor). Some interesting comment initially on Brahmin priesthood in Kerala, but halfway through the film goes haywire.