 According to Cinema Vision India, the film's theme is "that people change — and they must". Ramachandran notes that when Kali's arm is amputated, he feels helpless and emasculated; Kumaran, his bête noire, becomes an easy target, adding that Kali refuses to see the benefits of his sister marrying a wealthy, educated man (even when Valli and his wife Manga ask for his consent), but sees the error of his ways when Valli abandons her defiant wedding preparations to join her brother: "My sister has shown all of you that I am the most important person in her life. I need only that happiness for the rest of my life. And it is with that pride and arrogance that I give my permission for my sister to marry."
