but tender-hearted folk dancer Karuppayi, who has to contend with living under the shadows of landlords; she changes her identity every now and then to escape from them. In an interview with Maalai Malar, Manorama stated that she was initially nervous acting in front of Ganesan and Balaiah, but Nagarajan assured her that whenever her character appeared she would be the centre of attention, which gave her the confidence to play her role. Serial and theatre artist M. L. Bhanumathi played the nurse who treats Shanmugasundaram. Other supporting actors included K. Sarangapani, S. Ramarao, M. K. Murthy, Balusundaram, T. N. Sivadhanu, S. R. Dasarathan, Sivasooriyan, Senthamarai, Kallapart Natarajan, Gundu Karuppaiah, Chandranbabu, S. V. Rajagopal, A. M. Maruthappa, Udayachandrika, Ambika and Kalpalatha. Filming Thillana Mohanambal, shot in Eastmancolor, was filmed in Thanjavur, Thiruvarur and Madurai, in the Cauvery delta. Many of the film's aesthetics were borrowed from Indian theatre, of which Nagarajan was an artist. The competition sequence between Ganesan and Padmini took about nine takes to be filmed. The film presented a mise-en-scène feel, mostly using frontal shots. The actors were lined up to face the camera and deliver their dialogue. Nagarajan, a former employee of the T. K. S. drama company, paid tribute to Shankardas Swamigalfrom whom the company had its ancestral rootsby naming a drama company in the film after the company's name. Snippets of the film's behind-the-scenes production were filmed by French film director Louis Malle as a part of his 378-minute, seven-part documentary series, L'Inde fantôme: Reflexions sur un voyage (1969), when he visited Madras (now Chennai). As Sundaram, Ganesan did not actually play the Nadaswaram; he moved his fingers on the surface of the instrument, held his breath intermittently, and created an illusion on the screen with his facial expressions. The Nadaswaram played by Sundaram and Thangarathnam was played off-screen by the brothers, M. P. N. Sethuraman and M. P. N. Ponnusamy. Nagarajan had seen the duo performing at a wedding reception in Karaikudi and asked them to come to Chennai. Their rehearsals took place over 15 days in Mahadevan's recording studio in Chennai. Nagarajan then listened to a radio recital by the duo, and was impressed with their rendition of Tyagaraja's Keerthana, "Nagumomu Ganaleni". The Keerthana was later selected as one of the soundtrack instrumentals in the film. The film shows the traditions exhibited by courtesans, zamindars in coaches drawn by horses, and palaces