Most movies thrive on conflicts, either internal or between their characters. Gowravargal belongs to the former category as it forces its protagonist to choose between two things important to him. While the conflict itself is reasonably strong, its development lacks tension and its resolution is severely disappointing, making the film a rather dull affair.

Ganesan(Vignesh), who works at a two-wheeler stand, saves Poongodi(Monica) from a friend-turned-obsessive lover Vasanth and then proceeds to thrash him. That brings Ganesan to the attention of Thondaiman(Satyaraj), the local do-gooder dada and Ganesan quickly becomes his right-hand man. Ganesan and Poongodi become lovers but due to the games played by Vasanth's dad, who is an MLA, and a cop Nayanar(Ranjith), who has his own agenda, their romance runs into an unexpected problem.

Gowravargal has a tightly knit group of characters who form a kind of a network by being connected to each other in multiple ways. The guy who fights with Vignesh is also the son of an MLA who owes a debt of gratitude to Satyaraj, the cop who knows both Satyaraj and the MLA also happens to be having an affair with Monica's sister and so on. Since many of these characters have their own agenda and are willing to use those around them without much thought to attain what they want, the film manages to be unpredictable. Unfortunately, the unpredictability isn't exploited until the end when there are some surprises from some unexpected sources.

Like films like Dheena, Gowravargal also places its protagonist on the horns of a dilemma as Vignesh is forced to choose between his love for Monica and his loyalty to Satyaraj. Even if the direction he is leaning towards is made pretty clear, the eventual resolution isn't obvious and that develops the problem well. But just when things reach boiling point, it is resolved in a disappointing, anticlimactic manner that makes the entire crisis seem unnecessary.

Considering the film's title and the references to it while naming the actors during the opening credits, one expects some link to the Mahabharatha even if it is not as layered as in, say, Raavanan. But the film draws no parallels to the epic with its story. The overlong climax sees some attempts to provide a link with references to Kurukshetra but these seem forced since what unfolds has no connection to the epic. If anything, the good guys remind us of the Pandavas rather than the Kauravas with Satyaraj, Vignesh and four other goons and Monica all ending up in the same place!

Not forced to wear a ridiculous wig and crack tired jokes, Satyaraj looks the part of the don and plays his role with the seriousness it needs. Vignesh tries hard as always but ends up being rather bland while Ranjith shows more energy though his role of the corrupt cop is rather cliched. Monica doesn't share much chemistry with Vignesh and Banuchander is more irritating than menacing with his loud guffaws.