Mahesh, Saranya Matrum Palar is a delicate love story; but the love story assumes prominence and value owing to its crackling family backdrop.

Mahesh (Sakthi) returns from the city to his ancestral home and large joint family when the wedding arrangements of his younger sister Kalpana (Charanya Mohan) are being finalized. Here, pleasantly excited by the elated and celebratory mood, Mahesh reveals his own affair with a sprightly young girl named Saranya (Sandya) to each and every member in the close-knit family. The family members do not show any signs of opposition but they do not take him seriously either. When Kalpana's wedding arrangement is final, both families, taking advantage of the mutual comfort level developed between them, decide to enter into another alliance, one between Mahesh and the groom's only sister (Keerthi Chawla). Shocked, Mahesh refuses to accept this proposal, insisting he will marry only Saranya. His refusal estranges the two families; as a result of his blunt refusal, Kalpana's wedding gets cancelled.

After some time, the loyal girl (Keerthi Chawla) informs Mahesh that her wedding has been fixed elsewhere; taking this as an optimistic cue to settle issues, Mahesh again approaches Kalpana's prospective groom, explains that Kalpana still desires to marry him and pleads that he accept Kalpana as his wife. But putting the blame for all the conflict and cancelled marriage on Mahesh, the groom heartlessly brushes Mahesh's earnest appeal aside. Finding no way to escape from the predicament, propelled by his deep care and concern for his sister's love and life, Mahesh explains the true nature of his tragic affair with Saranya in a flashback. Eventually, all things come to a happy end. What happens to Mahesh finally? Does he decide to join Saranya or does he choose Keerthi for his sister's sake? Mahesh Saranya Matrum Palar has a twist in the climax!

Emerging young hero Sakthi and Sandya, the cheery young heroine, are the pillars of Mahesh.. While Sakthi scores through his mature and measured performance, Sandya steals audiences' hearts through her sweet-girl image. Charanya Mohan, as the hero's sister, also earns a strong place in audiences' hearts. Santhanam shines with his usual style of comedy. In fact, all the characters have fitting roles to play in the plot.

Director Ravi has indeed worked well on his storyboard. Except some parts where the narrative sags a bit, the film moves smoothly and logically. To top it all, the climax that rings with definite clarity is absolutely convincing. Vidyasagar's music, particularly the re-recording, is top-class.