A movie star moves into the neighbourhood where a joint family of three husbands and their wives live. Her presence sends the wives into a spending spree as they buy radios and fancy goods to keep up with their glamorous neighbour, while accusing their husbands of being too close to the star.
In 1965, when K. Balachander was "just getting his bearings in the film industry", his household was excited because Sowcar Janaki, a star, was due to visit their house. This incident laid the foundation for Bhale Kodallu,[4] which was written and directed by Balachander,[1] and produced by S. S. Vasan under Gemini Studios.[5] It was simultaneously filmed in Tamil as Bama Vijayam,[6] with a slightly different cast.[7] The final length of the film was 4,767 metres (15,640 ft).[1]