This evocative musical begins with a shabby old man living as a recluse near a famous temple. When he ventures out into the village, he is beaten by the shepherds who believe that he is a thief. When they hand him over to the police, the officer in charge identifies him as a once-famous musician, Anantha Rama Sharma (Mammooty), hailed as Sangeeta Samrat (Emperor of music), who has been missing for four years. The inspector RadhaKrishna (Achyuth) informs his aunt (Raadhika Sarathkumar), who teaches music in his native village, of this and the past of Anantha Sharma is narrated through flashback.
In the flashback, it is revealed that Anantha Rama Sharma is a widely respected Carnatic singer with a bloated ego. This is established when he rejects the Padma Shri bestowed upon him by the Government of India, as he believes that the other awardees are not worthy to be mentioned alongside him.
Gangadhar (Master Manjunath) lives in the same village. He rejects the society's norms (taking music classes and going to school) and spends his time sitting by the riverside. The river inspires him to sing many songs in different tunes. His music teacher, also the policeman's aunt, recognizes his talent and tries to nurture it. His school teacher (the music teacher's brother) is also fond of Gangadhar.
Gangadhar wants to become a great singer, like Ananta Sharma, and his father (Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam) encourages him. His day comes when Anantha Sharma is honored in an auditorium. Gangadhar sings a song ('Aanathi Neeyara') in honor of Anantha Sharma, which many consider to be much better than any of Anantha Sharma's works. The boy is hailed a child prodigy by everyone including Anantha Sharma's wife.
Anantha Sharma wants to imprison and suppress Gangadhar's talents. So he asks Gangadhar to stay in his house and learn music as one must be well-experienced to sing on stage. Anantha Sharma goes to the extent of copying one of Gangadhar's tunes and singing it on stage to win back his glory. But Gangadhar and Ananta's wife llearn of his misdeeds. When confronted, he accepts guilt and defends himself by saying that he did it as he was afraid this child would destroy his name and fame.
In this emotional moment, he suffers a heart-attack. To show his gratitude towards his adopted mother, Gangadhar kills himself so that there would be no competition for Anantha Sharma. The incident shocks the villagers and they call Anantha Sharma a murderer. To escape their wrath and insults, he runs away and becomes a recluse.
Back in the present, Ananta Sharma is still unconscious while in the police station. When he awakes, he finds himself in the house of Gangadhar's music teacher. The music teacher's husband tells him that they have forgiven him and asks him to return to his house. At his house, he finds his wife giving music classes (an institute named 'Gangadhar Music Academy') for young children.
He sits down amongst the children learning the music basics from his wife. The movie ends with a scene when a young girl next to him chides him gently by correcting his way of singing a basic song note.
