Original: அயலி
Young Tamizhselvi dreams of becoming a doctor. But her village, Veerappannai, has fearsome age-old customs and traditions which inadvertently suppress women of the village. Will she be able to overcome them?
In the 90s, the people of Veerappannai take pride in marrying off girls as soon as they reach puberty. But teenaged Tamil Selvi dreams of becoming a doctor rather than a young bride.
Tamil fears that her dream of becoming a doctor will fail as soon as she reaches puberty, as her parents won’t defy customs. She prays to God so that she never hits puberty, only to be disappointed.
Tamil hides her puberty and violates the village's most important tradition to continue with her education. But when her mother discovers her condition, Tamil convinces her to let her continue going to school.
As the village's 1st female student who has progressed to class 10, Tamil is often bullied. Will she defy the village head and step outside the village to take the test in the town public school?
Tamil and her mother travel to town for the public examination. However, Tamil's father gets injured in an accident, and her mother begins to think of it as god’s way of punishing the family for defying customs.
Tamil's friend Kayalvizhi is due to get married. They come up with a plan to stop it by defying a custom that restricts women's entry to the temple. This move overturns all the traditional practices of the village.
Inspired by Tamil, every woman now wants to enter the temple. Tamil feels happy thinking about the changed fate of the women in her village. But Thavasi’s son soon crushes her plans.
Ezhil and Sakthivel's marriage gets arranged. But the women in the village now take a stand against any custom that challenges their freedom and try to stop the union.
