Aradhana is a story about Puliraju (Chiranjeevi), an illiterate village thug and drunkard who terrorizes everyone in the village, including his mother.
His mother decides to get him married to Gangamma (Raadhika), a tough village lady who is determined to marry Puliraju regardless of his desires.
She would probably have managed this had it not been for the arrival of a new schoolteacher, Jennifer (Suhasini) who sweeps Puliraju off his feet, and inspires a complete reformation, though it takes him a while to convince Jennifer that he is worth working with.
Their budding romance is interrupted by the arrival of Lawrence (Rajasekhar) who is a wealthy educated and marriageable relative favored by Jennifer's father, and Gangamma.
There are a number of plot twists in which all of the four main characters display some character growth.