This classic film chronicles the life of Tukaram (17th C.), one of Maharashtra's most popular saint poets, activating the 20th-C. resonances of his turning away from courtly Sanskrit towards vernacular rhythms of religious poetry which constituted the first major emancipatory movement against brahmanical caste domination. The episodic plot pits Tukaram (Pagnis) against the Brahmin Salomalo (Bhagwat), who pretends to be the true author of Tukaram's songs while calling for his ostracization.