Yaarukkaga Azhudhaan

<p>Joseph is a servant boy working at a lodge in . An inebriated , who arrives at the lodge to stay, gives his cash to the lodge owner for safekeeping. The next morning, the Sait has forgotten to whom he gave the cash, so he accuses Joseph. The owner exploits this situation and keeps the money. When interrogated, Joseph remains taciturn. A woman lodger who was deserted by her lover, tries to help, but only the return of the head cook Naidu, who was previously on vacation, discovers the truth and clears Joseph’s name. was produced and directed by novelist under his own banner Asia Jothi Films. It was his second directorial venture after (1965), and based on his own novel of the same name. The original producer, G. N. Velumani, wanted and to star, with as director; after began, Velumani backed out due to differences with Jayakanthan who took over as producer, with and cast instead. While primarily a , the film also included overtones of the genre. Nagesh, then known primarily as a comedian, was cast in a serious role as the male lead Joseph. Since he was busy doing many films at that time, most of the shoot took place only at night. The cinematography was handled by . The film had no dance sequences, and the music was composed by . The film’s final cut measured 4,813 metres (15,791 ft). Jayakanthan did not direct any further films after this, but did collaborate on the production of (1977) and and (1978), both adapted from his novels. was released on 22 July 1966. Though the received praise for its content and technique, it was a commercial failure. lauded the film for eschewing Tamil cinema conventions such as fights and song sequences, and Nagesh’s performance. Writing for , praised the film for making a “strong socially relevant statement”. Film historian wrote that it brought a “whole new dimension” of Nagesh’s acting ability, and that though film did not get much notice during its theatrical run, he was “lucky to catch it in its first few days in Chennai”. He described the film as “very realistic natural cinema”, praised Nagesh for “emoting more through body language than dialogue” and the cinematography by Ghosh, adding that the dialogues were “written so as to not divert the focus of the film.”</p>