As a Child and a Student when I was in primary school the Tamil movie Thiruvilayadal was always played in Doordharshan channel during festival days of Diwali and Ayudha pooja. This movie always reminds me of my childhood days when I grew up in T.Nagar, Chennai.

Thiruvilayadal, which translates to "The Divine Game," is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language Hindu mythological film that A. P. Nagarajan wrote, directed, and co-produced. Legendary Actors Sivaji Ganesan, Savitri, and K. B. Sundarambal are the film's main stars.

Thiruvilayadal was inspired by the Thiruvilayadal Puranam, a compilation of sixty-four epic Shaivite religious stories penned by Paranjothi Munivar in the sixteenth century. These stories describe the acts (and antics) of Shiva on Earth, where he takes on various disguises in order to test his adherents. Four of the stories are shown in Thiruvilayadal.

On July 31, 1965, Thiruvilayadal was released to critical acclaim for its storyline, dialogue, direction, music, along with Sivaji Ganesan, K B Sundarambal, Nagesh and Balaiah performances. The movie was a box office hit, playing in theaters for more than 25 weeks before being certified a platinum jubilee picture. Since it was released at a time when Tamil cinema was mostly making social pictures, this movie was also accountable for the revival of mythological and devotional films. Thiruvilayadal won the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Film as well as the Certificate of Merit for the 13th National Film Awards' Second-Best Feature Film. In September 2012, a digitally restored version was made available, which proved to be a profitable venture.

The soundtrack and score for the movie were composed by K. V. Mahadevan, Poet Kannadasan wrote the song lyrics. Every line in the song, such as Darbar, Todi, Maand, Mohanam, and Todi, comes from a distinct raga. Three ragas of Darbari Kanada, Shanmukhapriya, and Kambhoji serve as the foundation for the song in the movie.

Even today when I watch this movie after 35 years I am still enchanted by the great story telling by the Director along with execptional makeup of all artists and above all the performances of great actors like Sivaji Ganesan, Savitri, K B Sundarambal and Nagesh. The songs in this movie are a pleasure to hear and watch especially when we know the Tamil language.

This is a must watch movie irrespective of the state or country we are from and it is available in You tube channel and Prime Video of Amazon.