Ratham is about a helpful educated farmer, Karthik (Geetanand.) Karthik is in love with Bujji (Chandini) and the two of them wish to be married. When the couple tries to convince Abbulu, Bujji's father, he places unreasonable demands. If Karthik accepts these conditions, he can marry Bujji. Why is Abbulu against Karthik to make such demands? What Karthik does is the story of Radham.

A child-widow grows up and falls in love, only to have her husband return to her life. Madhavi (Chandini), a child-bride, loses her husband Krishna in an accident. When she grows up, her father (Nageshwar Rao) wants her to remarry. Madhavi meets Raju (Venkat) and they fall in love, prompting Raju to claim that he is Krishna. However, another man claiming to be the real Krishna also surfaces