Whether it is Autograph or Thavamai Thavamirunthu, every movie by Cheran is tagged with a social message or a sermon targeting the youth. Mayakkannadi is in no way different, although Cheran has portrayed himself with an altogether different makeover.

The road to success is always under construction and loaded with hardships. Rome was not built in a day. Dreaming of fortunes is no crime. But one must develop a passion for what one wants to aspire for. Mayakkannadi is not about winners, it is about losers of everyday life.

Cheran proves himself as a romantic hero in designer outfits, straightened and coloured hair. With dreams songs in the blossoming locales of Switzerland and Venice, he has tried to prove that he can also make and act in movies away from his natural style.

Kumar (Cheran) a professional hair stylist and Maheswari (Navya) are lovers who work in Adam and Eve, beauty parlours for men and women adjacent to each other and owned by Tirupathi (Radha Ravi).

They are from middle class backgrounds and are obsessed by the rich and famous who come to their parlours. Navya has a great imagination. When she sets out on her two-wheeler, she imagines she is a queen in her chariot.

Neither is pragmatic or down-to-earth. The lovers dream to make it big one day, become rich and lead luxurious lives, but do not have any practical plan for the same. Kumar decides to join films after meeting actor Sarathkumar, who says that if the script is right, anyone can be a hero.

Greed and aspiration forces Kumar to hunt his dream; in the battle, he loses his job at the parlour. Finally he ends up working for Arasu, a shrewd businessman dealing in drugs. Kumar ends up in jail. After three years he is a changed and reformed person.

The first half of the movie has some lighter moments. It portrays the life of the common middle class man, his greed and aspirations. Cheran's intentions may be right. But the romance does not jell with his personality. The jail 'Tamasha' and Radha Ravi's lengthy dialogues towards the climax drag the movie.