Pushpaka Vimanamu is a silent dark comedy about an unemployed youth, played by Kamal Hasan, whose luck changes for the better when he finds a drunk millionaire passed out on the roadside. He keeps the millionaire captive in his house and decides to assume his identity to experience the life of the affluent and stays at the five-star hotel where the millionaire is put up. This is where he falls in love with a magician's daughter (Amala). Meanwhile, a contract killer is hired to kill the millionaire whose repeated failed attempts to kill Kamal with his 'Ice Knives' send the audience into a laughing frenzy. Eventually, Kamal's character realizes the heartache felt by the missing millionaire's wife and sets him free. He confesses the truth to the magician's daughter but she says that she still likes him and gives him a rose and a note, which is blown away by a gust of wind. The a typical ending of the movie sees Kamal standing in a single file line waiting for a job interview.