Gouramma belongs to a poor, uneducated family who is very materialistic but after getting married to Shamanna,
a simple schoolteacher her craving for money never stopped. She had two sons, namely Chandru and Girish and a daughter, Surabhi. Girish was not as ambitious as Chandru so he settled with a simple job in Bangalore while Chandru being a computer engineer went a long way to settle down in America.
Girish gets married to Vinuta a schoolteacher whom Chandru had met once in Dharwad. Chandru became a darling of his mother as she found her dreams fulfilled through him when he sent dollars to her, from time to time. Soon Shamanna’s days of misery were over. Gouramma as her daughter-in-law always disregarded Vinuta. Vinuta was a devoted, loving, caring Bahu who lived up to the expectations of the family but not Gouramma. Shamanna admired her for her dedicated attitude.
Chandru becomes lonely in America and decides to get married. He sends a letter to Vinuta in Dharwad, as he liked her but when he does not get any reply, he marries a rich girl, named Jamuna. Since Jamuna comes from a rich family background, Gouramma respects her more than Vinuta. She is the ‘DOLLAR BAHU’, who kept sending gifts for her and the family. In no time, Vinuta lost all importance to Gouramma and her words of praise came out only for Jamuna.
Surabhi, Vinuta’s sister-in-law was also rude to Vinuta. One day Vinuta found out that Surabhi was dating a neighbour. She informed Gouramma about Surabhi. Gouramma tried to get Suarbhi married to someone else. She had pre-set conditions for her son-in-law. They were that her husband be rich and belong to America. He should not have a mother. Gouramma was able to find a boy who fulfilled two out of the three criteria’s. Chandru and Jamuna did not attend Surabhi’s marriage but sent some dollars from America. Jamuna started working in a bank in US. Vinuta could not attend Surabhi’s marriage, as she was tired of her mother-in-law’s attitude towards her and was expecting. She delivered a baby boy named Harsha in Dharwad. Only Girish and Chandru visited Dharwad to see Harsha.
Gouramma left for US to spend sometime with Chandru and her beloved Jamuna. She was fascinated by the term ‘America’ but on reaching USA, her notions changed in no time. Jamuna was expecting so she called Gouramma for help. Jamuna delivered a baby girl whom she named Manasi. Gouramma finds the true nature of Jamuna when she starts living with her. Jamuna did not respect Gouramma and Indian traditions. Chandru was a puppet in her hands. Gouramma’s experience of meeting Indians settled in US opened her eyes. The lifestyle of Indians living in America baffled her. She realised her mistake of misjudging her husband and Vinuta. She kept remembering Vinuta whenever Jamuna did not live up to her expectations. Ultimately, Gouramma decides to go back to India.
When Gouramma reached home, she is full of regret and repentance. Shamanna had asked Girish and Vinuta to shift to Dharwad because Vinuta was becoming depressed wondering Gouramma’s remarks about Jamuna on her return from US.
Gouramma feels guilty and asks her husband to take her to Vinuta to express her guilt. She wishes to revive her relationship with her dear Vinuta because the DOLLAR FEVER WAS OVER.....