'Bhramaram' tells the story of a guy named Sivankutty (Mohanlal), who comes to Coimbatore from the high-range area, and seeks out Unnikrishnan (Suresh Menon), who is a very busy stock-broker. The two were in fact classmates in school, but Unni fails to recognize him. Unni is well-settled, with wife Uma (Lakshmi Gopalaswamy) and two daughters, one of whom is in a boarding school.
Since Unni doesn't recognize his old time classmate, Sivankutty prefers to give out a false name. But later, when Unni realizes who the visitor is after a tip off from his friend Alex (Muralikrishnan) who too is an old time classmate and now a doctor, all hell breaks loose. Why has Sivankutty come all the way seeking Unni and maybe Alex too? Is it to avenge some past wrong? Unni doesn't know what to do.
Sivankutty, who behaves sometimes like a friend and sometimes like an enemy, tries to convince Unni that he is not out for revenge. All he wants is for Unni to accompany him to his place and tell his wife (Bhoomika) and daughter that he (Sivankutty) is in fact innocent and what had happened in the past was all a big mistake committed by Unni and Alex. Unni is reluctant to go. Sivankutty then changes his approach and threatens Unni with dire consequences, following which Unni agrees to go with him. And from here the story of 'Bhramaram' takes off.