Petralthan Pillaiya

<p>Jeeva is a mother unable to afford the cost of raising a young boy. She abandons him in a temple where a , Anandhan, discovers him. Anandhan tries to get rid of the boy, but he eventually becomes attached to him. Anandhan names the boy Kannan and educates him, despite his poor financial condition. Five years later, Jeeva, her husband Sekhar and social services try to find her son. is based on ‘s 1921 American film, . Writer initially narrated the story to , who seemed interested but “did not follow up”; he later gave it to . The duo (R. Krishnan and S. Panju) directed the film, and Panju edited the film under the alias S. Panjabi. It was produced by K. K. Vasu under the banner Sri Muthukumaran Pictures, and photographed by . paid (equivalent to 7.3 million or US$87,000 in 2023) to Vasu, and acted in the film without charging. Principal photography began in June 1964. remains the only film produced by Vasu. composed the soundtrack, the lyrics were written by . The song “Nalla Nalla Pillaigalai” had to be modified after the objected to the lyric “Arignar Annappol” (Like Anna, the scholar), a reference to the politician . This was changed to “Thiru Vi Ka pol” (Like Thiru Vi Ka), a reference to the scholar and activist . was released on 9 December 1966. said the film was strictly for those who would prefer affection towards children over love. The film emerged a commercial success, running for over 100 days in theatres.</p>