Gudumba Shankar is an action-comedy film about a man who gets involved in car theft and other adventures after being forced into a marriage against his will.

A strict mother rejects her daughter for marrying a poor man and seeks rich women for her sons. However, all hell breaks loose when the sons too fall in love with women from poor families.

Rishi, a thief, happens to own a floppy incriminating a minister of murder. Things turn chaotic when his lookalike Velu is targeted by the minister for the footage.

When petty thief Ramakrishna seeks refuge in the village of Kotayya after a botched con, he decides to masquerade as the long-lost grandson of the village's philosopher founder -- thus inheriting the man's property. But trouble comes in the form of a beautiful investigative reporter, who quickly recognizes him as an imposter -- and with whom Ramakrishna falls in love. Now, he must make himself worthy of her affection.