The film is set in the Nelakondapalli village of khammam district in Nizam Princely State of Hyderabad of the late 1940s. The feudal society is under the vice-like grip of an aristocratic family and its head, a Dorasani (Shwetha Menon). Mallamma (Baby Annie) is the darling of the village, who is living in perpetual humiliation. They seek solace in her songs. Brought up by Sambayya, an old man, she develops a mysterious attachment to a basil tree which is regarded as holy by the entire village.

Satyam is an unbelievably nice guy. Everybody likes him--except for the two people he loves most, his father and Ankita, the girl with whom he is in love with. Because he and his father don't get along, Sathyam leaves home and starts living with friends. A sensitive man and sensible writer, Satyam ghost-writes for a popular film lyricist. He wants to prove himself as lyricist before meeting Ankita, when he intends to express his love for her; except in the meanwhile, a flamboyant classmate of Ankita proposes to her.

Abhiram, a misogynist, works as a manager in his own advertising agency. When his uncle, the chairman, appoints Harika as an assistant manager, he mistreats her, but his hatred soon turns into love.