Lokanath was chosen as the cinematographer and N. Duraisamy produced the film under their production banner, Kalakendra Films. When the matter was taken to the Madras High Court, it did not accept Dasan's contention for the script, hence handing the rights to Balachander. Dasan, however, stated that Apoorva Raagangal was his script. According to Balachander, he was also inspired by a riddle which featured in one of the stories in Baital Pachisi. Balachander adapted the screenplay of 40 Carats – a 1973 American film directed by Milton Katselas, which narrated the story of Ann Stanley ( Liv Ullmann), a widow who falls in love with the much younger Peter Latham ( Edward Albert) – for his film Apoorva Raagangal. The Sri Lankan newspaper Daily News stated that K. Rajinikanth as Pandiyan (Abaswaram) Īdditionally, Kannadasan, Jaishankar and members of the Madras-based United Amateur Artistes make "friendly appearances".Both relationships arrive at a dilemma with an unexpected twist when Bhairavi's long-lost husband, Pandiyan ( Rajinikanth) comes into picture. We soon find out that Ranjani is Bhairavi's daughter (born to her out of wedlock). In the meantime, Prasanna's father, Mahendran ( Major Sundarrajan) embarks on a relationship with the young Ranjani ( Jayasudha). The two are slowly drawn to each other and decide to marry in spite of their age difference and a past relationship that Bhairavi is still inextricably tied to. Prasanna ( Kamal Haasan) is nursed back to health by a classical singer Bhairavi ( Srividya) after a bloody street-side fight. The film was remade in Telugu as Thoorpu Padamara (1976) where Srividya reprised her role, and in Hindi as Ek Nai Paheli (1984) where Balachander and Kamal reprised their duties. It won three National Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards South. The rest of the film revolves around the four characters and their problems.Īpoorva Raagangal released on 18 August 1975 and became a critical and commercial success. The film is about Prasanna (Kamal) who falls in love with the older Bhairavi (Srividya) while his father is drawn to Bhairavi's daughter Ranjini (Jayasudha). Apoorva Raagangal was controversial upon release as it examines relationships between people with wide age gaps, which challenged Indian social mores. Although the film was based on a riddle featured in one of the Baital Pachisi stories, it has also been widely described as having been inspired by the American film 40 Carats (1973).