Jakkamma and Ponnambalam, a married couple, live happily with their two sons — Babu and Raja — in a village.

Babu and Raja befriend Jambu, a friend and sympathiser of the poor and with his help, they rescue their mother.

[1] Film historian Swarnavel Eswaran compared Jakkamma to Karnan's other Western films like Kalam Vellum, Ganga and Enga Pattan Sothu because of their mutual theme being the protagonist seeking revenge for a murdered family member.

[4] He compared the title character to Sita from the Ramayana for "suffering alone with her two kids", and Draupadi from the Mahabharata for "vowing not to tie her hair till her husband's death is avenged".

[2] The songs featured in the film were "Kollimalai Saralamma", "Kadavulin Padaippe", "Music Dance" and "Jakkamma".