Saradha

<p>—who earlier worked as a screenwriter for films like and —made his directorial debut with . He approached A. L. Srinivasan to produce the film based on the concept of the protagonist’s sexual potency. Srinivasan liked the script and agreed to produce despite being warned by friends not to produce a film with such a bold concept. The soundtrack was composed by and lyrics were written by and . The songs “Manamagale Marumagale” and “Oruthi Oruvanai” were well received. The former is Arunachalam’s first song as a lyricist. was released on 16 March 1962. Film distributors expressed their doubts over the film after watching it and sought refund of their advances. Srinivasan returned the advance and released the film on his own and became successful. The film was successful even its second release. The film was praised by critics for Gopalakrishnan’s writing, the cast performances (particularly Vijayakumari’s) and music. appreciated the film stating that “the film had several interesting elements and innovations.. It is a must watch film and make us all proud that Tamil films are progressing well”. Kanthan of wrote that though the film reminded him of (1962), the innovative screenplay made it worth watching. The film received – Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film. Many reviewers noted had similarities to , a novel by . Subsequently, he filed a lawsuit against Srinivasan, alleging plagiarism. Writer Jayalakshmi also sued Srinivasan, claiming the film plagiarised one of her short stories. However, as historian noted, “the legal intricacies of copyright, it appears, were beyond both [Akilan]’s and his lawyer’s grasp”, leading to Akilan losing the case while Jayalakshmi won. She was compensated by being “awarded more damages than claimed”, and the scenes she took offense to were deleted. established Gopalakrishnan as a popular director and he went on to direct several films with the theme of family drama. It was remade in as (1964), in as (1965) and in as (1971).</p>