Punyam Aham is set in a small village in northern Kerala. The protagonist is Narayan Unni, a young man with a Brahmin father and a low-caste mother, who are separated, leaving the mother to raise him alone. The film tells the story of Unni leaving home and searching for his identity, and then repeating many of his father's mistakes in life. It is based on the story in traditional folklore about Naranath Bhranthan and his father Vararuchi.[2]