The protagonist "Saapaattu" Raman was inspired by a man Madhavan knew in his native town Walajapet. In the 1940s, Sivaji Ganesan portrayed the Maratha king Shivaji in the play Sivaji Kanda Hindu Rajyam, written by C. N. Annadurai. A portion from the play was re-enacted in the film as a story within a story with permission from Annadurai's family. Kannadasan wrote the dialogues for the portion. Ganesan's character acts in many nested films for which footage from Ganesan's films such as Parasakthi (1952), Pasamalar (1961), Paava Mannippu (1961) and Navarathri (1964) was used. This is the first film to feature Goundamani in a speaking role. Themes Film historian Mohan Raman notes that the film has many references to Ganesan's personal life. He believes the scene, where Raman asks a character if he really looks like he is ignorant of politics, was Ganesan's retort to the political party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam since they had previously questioned his knowledge in politics. Historian G. Dhananjayan considered the film to be similar to Server Sundaram (1964) because it features "an ordinary and innocent man becoming a film hero overnight for the sake of his lady love", with the difference being "the love of [Raman] for Devaki and the sacrifices he makes till the end for his ex-lover and her child". Soundtrack The music was composed by M. S. Viswanathan and the lyrics were written by Kannadasan. Release and reception Raman Ethanai Ramanadi was released on 15 August 1970. Shankar's Weekly wrote, "The basic ingredients of an average Tamil film are no less in number and variety than those of a Bombay film. If anything, there is an excess on the part of the Tamil film. [...] The story is absurd even by Madras standards. One cannot doubt the range of histrionics that Sivaji is capable of exhibiting, but it needs a tough director to get him to do what is wanted. Madhavan does not seem to be one. Hence some avoidable overacting by Sivaji." The film ran for over 100 days in theatres, and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil. References Bibliography External links 1970 films 1970s Tamil-language films Best Tamil Feature Film National Film Award winners Films about actors Films directed by P. Madhavan Films scored by M. S. Viswanathan Indian drama films Tamil films remade in other languages