Thangam (Sathyaraj) is a good and staright-forward individual. He is also the member of a highly-regarded family that has earned a good name in the village. Thangam loves his sister Bhagyalakshmi (Jayashree) and even after his marriage to Meenakshi (Megha Nair) defers all his marital pleasures for his sister's sake.

The story begins with a flashback. Aaruchami (Shanmugarajan) is Thangam's cousin. Aaruchami is malicious; he views women as dolls who he can happily play with and abandon after the game. Whenever he attempts to snare and take advantage of ladies, Thangam intervenes and settles the affair, teaching a worthy lesson to his cousin. Though Aaruchami openly states his dislike for Thangam who interferes and thwarts his nefarious desingns, there is a deep feeling of revenge smouldering inside him against his righteous cousin.

During one of his messy dealings, Aaruchami is caught red-handed by his embittered wife and is forced to face her wrath. Furious exchanges lead to a cold-blooded murder. Understanding the situation, Thangam accepts the blame and goes to jail.

Cut to the present tale. An exhausted and evidently older Thangam returns to his hometown after completing his term in prison. Nothing happy awaits him at the home front. His father and sister are dead, victims of a bomb-blast at the quarry. A lengthy tale of family woes and bitter incidents is brought to his attention. Thangam pauses to ponder about the emergence of such a deep-rooted enmity between relatives. How he smartly wins over his enemies and teaches them a fitting lesson forms the rest of the story.

The high point of the film is the Sathyaraj-Goundamani comedy. Thangam is the comeback vehicle for comedian Goundamani. And it is indeed good to see him back! Here, his partner is none other than the hero Sathyaraj. As the happy-go-lucky Kaalai, Goundamani again proves that he is one whose comedy will reign forever. Their comedy is based on contemporaneous trends and practices observed in films. The duo effectively makes fun of NewGen heroism, punch-dialogues and all filmy affairs and offers an enjoyable perspective to them.

Sathyaraj scores in his role, bringing admirable nuances to his character. Megha Nair has done her best. Srikanth Deva's music and D. Sankar's camera suit the storyline. Stunts by Thalapathi Dinesh are remarkable.

Though Thangam has all things to entertain audiences, the story and the treatment by Kitcha seems to be somewhat remote and out-of-date. Thangam is a run-of-the-mill action-cum-sentiment flick.