Sathyamurthy "Sathyaa" is an unemployed youth who battles injustice and stays with his father Rajarathnam Mudaliar, the sole breadwinner for his family despite his old age, stepmother, and stepsister Sudha.

One day, Sathyaa beats a group of rogues who are thrashing a tea vendor for not paying extortion money.

Sathya falls in love with Geetha Nair, who works as a salesperson in a cloth shop.

Mariappa's gang attacks and kills Sathya's friend Sundar in full public view.

Sathyaa's family disowns him for his activities, following which he is approached by Dhandapani, who convinces him to move to his own house and work for him.

Finally, Dhandapani tells Sathyaa to get some secret files and documents against Mariappa, which can be used to expose him in public.

Sathyaa later discovers that Dhandapani is corrupt and a double-crosser who used the evidence against Mariappa to join hands with him and contest in the upcoming election in his place.

After regaining consciousness, Sathyaa learns that the evidence against Mariappa and Dhandapani is destroyed as he used the file as a shield against the gunshots.

[7][8] Krissna avoided creating a shot-for-shot remake of Arjun; according to him, "we took only basic theme from the original and worked on it".

[18] Angela Joseph of Screen called Sathyaa "another gem in [Haasan's] mission for good cinema and acting.