'Salangai Oli' is the story of classical dancer Balu who hails from a poor family, but somehow manages to learn different forms of classical dances. His dream is to master all the dance forms and then create a new classical dance form of his own. Unfortunately, all his efforts fail due to unexpected and unfortunate happenings. These situations, coupled with his inability to achieve success, turn him into a drunkard. Just when he reaches a critical point in his life, his estranged beloved comes back into his life and tries to bring him back to his normal self.