Alaigal Oivathillai

Alaigal Oivathillai
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBharathiraja
Screenplay byBharathiraja
Story byManivannan
Produced byR. D. Bhaskar
Starring
CinematographyB. Kannan
Edited byR. Bhaskaran
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Pavalar Creations
Release date
  • 18 July 1981 (1981-07-18)
Running time
138 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Alaigal Oivathillai (transl. Waves never cease) is a 1981 Indian Tamil-language teen romantic drama film written and directed by Bharathiraja, from a story by Manivannan. The film stars Karthik and Radha, in their acting debuts. Thiagarajan, Silk Smitha and Kamala Kamesh appear in supporting roles. The story follows a Hindu boy who falls in love with a Christian girl. How the lovers unite braving all the obstacles, forms the crux of the story.

The story and screenplay were written by Manivannan and Bharathiraja, respectively. The cinematography was handled by B. Kannan, and editing was handled by R. Bhaskaran while the music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The film was simultaneously shot along with its Telugu version titled Seethakoka Chilaka (1981) where Karthik and Smitha reprised their roles. Filming took place entirely in Kanyakumari.

Alaigal Oivathillai was released on 18 July 1981 to majorly positive reviews and became a commercial success. The film received eight Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Story Writer. It was remade by Bharathiraja in Hindi as Lovers in 1983.

  1. ^ Dhananjayan 2011, p. 64.