Thangam, a truck driver comes to the rescue of Sumathi, his blind younger sister, by putting on (by assuming) the offences of Moorthy, her husband.

On learning that M. Karunanidhi and Murasoli Maran were bankrupt, M. G. Ramachandran along with J. Jayalalithaa acted in Engal Thangam without taking any remuneration.

[4] The colours of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) flag – red and black – are featured in the attire Ramachandran frequently wears in the film as his character.

The song "Naan Sethu Pulachavanda", where he sings that he has risen from the dead, is a reference to Ramachandran having survived a gunshot wound inflicted on his throat by M. R. Radha in 1967.

[10] The Indian Express criticised the film for not offering anything new, but lauded Ramachandran's performance of the harikatha and concluded, "One is tired of this kind of movie with a huge bag of morals".