The film was a love triangle and performed well at the box office.
The film won a million hearts and is celebrating the silver jubilee smash for the Rajinikanth-Kamal Haasan duo.
With no villain and no comedian, as the title suggests, Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirathu was a full-on romance with love sequences that appealed to the youth. The film was released exactly 45 years ago, winning a million hearts. The film was an unforgettable hit for both Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, who rose to prominence after the film.
The Sridhar directorial entirely altered the style template he had been using up to that point. Following MGR’s Meenava Nanban, director Sridhar briefed his assistant directors P. Vasu and Santhana Bharathi about casting certain prominent actors as heroes. However, they recommended Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, who were quite popular, instead of those actors. More importantly, they requested that Ilayaraaja be the music composer instead of MSV, who had been working as a music composer for Sridhar films. The director Sridhar, who was tense, at first categorically refused. Then he made Rajini the hero by boldly subverting his usual style template. He cast Sripriya and Jayachitra as the heroines.
The film was a love triangle and performed well at the box office. Most importantly, the picture did not include villains, comedians, or spicy components — common in films released at the time.
The film was criticised for alienating the audience as it featured a large number of English subtitles and English accents. Meanwhile, director Sridhar’s lively screenplay was praised for keeping the audience hooked.