The simple yet, inspiring tale of Srimanthudu is about the scion of a wealthy business family, who is disinterested in merely making money. His thoughts and later circumstances move him to adopt a nondescript village and develop it against various odds. A wealthy entrepreneur (Jagapathi Babu) is a worried lot owing to his son’s (Mahesh Babu) indifferent and aloof attitude. He wishes his son to acquire and continue the monumental business empire that he built over his lifetime. But, the latter does not agree to it, stating that he wishes to acquire respect first. His thoughts lie elsewhere. He meets a girl (Shruthi Haasan) and they soon fall in love owing to the similarity in their thoughts. However, when she gets to know his identity, she simply ignores him. When confronted, she chides him that he is too rich and does not even know the place of his birth. She is later revealed to be the daughter of a benevolent village head (Dr Rajendra Prasad). Incidentally that is the same village.

Bharat Ram (Mahesh Babu), a brilliant but uncertain student with an unquenchable thrist for knowledge, graduates with his 5th degree from Oxford. At his uncle’s (Saakshi Sivaa) house, Bharat comes to learn that his father, Chief Minister of (at the time undivided) Andhra Pradesh Raghava Raju (R. Sarathkumar), was hospitalised and died from a stroke. On a flight to his familial home in Hyderabad, Bharat reminisces about his past.
As a child, Bharat is scolded by his mother (Aamani) for eating ice cream against medical advice, and he promises her he won’t eat it again. Raghava Raju, busy with a new political party (the Navodayam Party) that he and his friend Varadarajulu (Prakash Raj) formed, is shown to be too busy to spend time with his family. After Bharat is found to have eaten ice cream again, his mother reminds him on the importance of promises. The very next day, Bharat finds that she has died in her sleep, causing his father to stay at home to take care of Bharat. Soon after her death, Varadarajulu points out to Raghava Raju that he has to get back outside to prepare for the coming elections and suggests that he remarry to find a new mother for Bharat. However, Bharat is not close to his stepmother (Sithara) and instead spends time at his friend Subash’s house. After Subash’s parents get jobs in London, Bharat wants to come with them. At first his father hesitates, but soon agrees to let them study together.