text: Life is a constant struggle for Malini, a poor young woman with an ailing father. She reluctantly accepts stage actor-friend Sundari’s suggestion to go on stage, and joins her theater group, Kala Mandhiram. Success smiles on her and she soon becomes an idol of the masses. Sampath, a suave swindler, befriends Malini and takes control of her life. He persuades her to start her own theater company. A puppet in his hands, Malini severs ties with those who have helped her in the past such as Sundari. Soon she is in debt and back at the bottom of the ladder. Sampath abandons her. Sundari and others come to her rescue and Malini goes back to Kala Mandiram and begins her life anew, sadder but certainly wiser.