When his young son becomes a casualty in another war (in 1947, against invading Pakistan) the mother buries him in the sand dunes while vultures hover overhead. The backdrop is the Second World War in which Achappa the soldier is abroad fighting.
The film opens with a scene where Hitler is shown giving a speech. The movie depicts how war affects a soldier's life and his family. She does get her pearl necklace complete only to have it broken at Achappa's funeral. The title, meaning a string of pearls, stands for what Achappa promises his wife every year he buys a pearl and gives it to her with the hope that one day she can make a necklace of it. Sadashiva Brahmavar as Chengappa, Annapurna's father.Sihi Kahi Chandru as Menasinakai, barber.Achchappa is given a state funeral back home, while Annapurna loses her sanity. Achappa dies there while his protégé dies in the army hospital, before revealing to Annapurna, now a Major, about the former's death. They manage to escape into India's territory but are mortally wounded. In his troop is a young and promising soldier, Naik Mohan, who Achappa treats as his son. However, Achchappa refuses to give in and endures the pain inflicted. His troop and he are captured by the enemy and taken to their territory, and are tortured to reveal a certain military secret. Meanwhile, another war has broken out and Achchappa is sent to India's snow-covered border region with his troop. A guilt-ridden Annapurna reveals to them about their son's death and Achchappa's unwell mother dies from shock. Not having met him and his family for over ten years, his aged parents come over to see them. They also ensure that their parents back home are not made known about their son's death.Īchchappa, now a Major, trains young cadets in the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. They remain faithful to each other as years pass by. Despite her insistence, Achchappa refuses to remarry for the sake of having another child. Achchappa and Annapurna are aggrieved Annapurna rejoins the army as a nurse. An airstrike by the enemy takes Veeraraju's life, before Achchappa gets to see him. His wife and son travel to meet him in Rajasthan's desert, where he currently stationed. Having been away from home for a few years now, he longs to see his young son. In 1952, Achchappa stationed in Korea, is transferred to India's Rajasthan. Annapurna gives birth to a son, Veeraraju, but childbirth complications lead to her uterus being removed to save her life, leaving her unable to bear another child. Achchappa returns to work leaving Annapurna, who has now quit her job, with her in-laws father-in-law Belliappa has retired as a havaldar. They fall in love with each other and get married after the end of the war. She also hails from the same region in Karnataka as he, Coorg. He is tended to by a nurse, Lieutenant Annapurna. Achchappa, serving as a jawan in the British Indian Army, is injured while the World war II is raging.