Ashadeepam

Panikkar (T. N. Gopinathan Nair) is a wealthy landlord who lives in the same town as his widowed sister, Lakshmi Amma (Aranmula Ponnamma). Panikkar’s son, Shekhar (Gemini Ganeshan), leads a reckless life in the city, indulging in alcohol, gambling, and immoral pleasures. His "freinds" Vikraman (T. S. Baliah) and the dancer Jayanthi (Padmini) scheme to deceive him through various schemes and gradually drain his wealth.

While that is going on, Lakshmi Amma struggles to raise her children, Chandran (Satyan) and Shantha (B. S. Saroja), with little to no support from her affluent brother or his wife, Bhanu Amma (Pankajavalli). After completing college, Chandran aspires to study law and seeks financial assistance from Panikkar, but Bhanu Amma humiliates him and sends him away empty-handed. Undeterred, Chandran borrows money from friends and leaves town to pursue his studies.

Believing that marriage might reform her son, Bhanu Amma - aided by her loyal servant Pankan (K. Ramaswami) - searches for a suitable bride for Shekhar. However, no family is willing to marry their daughter to a man of Shekhar’s ill reputation. As a result, Bhanu Amma schemes to arrange Shekhar’s marriage to Shantha. Though reluctant, Lakshmi Amma agrees under pressure. When Chandran learns of the secret plan, he rushes home but arrives too late to stop the wedding.

Unfortunately, marriage does not cause Shekhar to change his ways. Jayanthi and Vikraman successfully managed to weasel their way into gaining complete control over Shekhar's finances, while Shantha is cruelly mistreated in her marital home. She gives birth to a child, her health declines, and she is falsely accused of suffering from tuberculosis.

After completing his studies, Chandran returns home and brings Shantha back with him. He falls in love with Sarala (Girija), the daughter of the local postmaster. On the day of Chandran’s wedding, Panikkar’s grand mansion, Kamalalayam, is seized by the court following legal action from creditors to whom Shekhar owes vast sums. Chandran offers shelter to Bhanu Amma in his own home.

Meanwhile, Shekhar finally realizes the true nature and malicious intentions of Jayanthi and Vikraman and confronts them. During the ensuing fight, Vikraman is killed. Vikraman’s men proceed to murder Bhanu Amma in retaliation. Shekhar is arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison.

A transformed Shekhar later confesses his past mistakes to Shantha and Chandran. Shantha forgives her husband and promises to wait for his return, rekindling hope in his heart - Ashadeepam

The music was composed by V. Dakshinamoorthy.^[3] Lyrics in Tamil were penned by Kuyilan.^[2][4]