Vijaya Pictures

Gundamma has two children and a stepdaughter who she mistreats. She hopes to get a son-in-law who will look after the family, but two brothers decide to teach her a lesson.

The life of 2 friends suguna (Savitri) and chandram (Nageshwara Rao) is potrayed as they and people around them swing between happiness and misery ( denoted as light and shadow).

Ramadasu, a devious zamindar who recently acquired the colonial title of "Rao Bahadur", is a perennial debtor who believes in leading a luxurious life on credit. His shrewd, schizophrenic manager Bhaja Govindam placates angry creditors with false promises. Dewan Bahadur Mukunda Rao, a wealthy, generous zamindar, is searching for a royal bridegroom for his granddaughter Manjari. Ramadasu plans to marry his son Raghu, a doctor practising in London, to Manjari to pay his debts. Unbeknownst to his father, though, Raghu has married a woman named Leela.

Manju is an outspoken woman. She lives with her father, who tries to socially reform people. Belonging to a middle class family, she cannot provide a dowry for potential grooms. One day, Manju comes across an innovative advertisement where a groom is looking for a bride without any dowry. His family shocks Manju's father, but she is determined to make a life with them. Will she succeed?