that resembled 19th century architecture. The contemporary areas of Madurai and Thanjavur, especially their railway junctions, gave the film a sense of ambiguity that was then very common in Tamil cinema. The film recreated the manner in which the Devadasis were portrayed in the early 20th century, and also depicts the social conditions and the upper class milieu in Thanjavur. Real locations were mixed with the fictional town of Madhanpur. The film also had undertones of the Chithirai festival. Its final length was . Music The film's soundtrack and score were composed by K. V. Mahadevan, while the lyrics were written by Kannadasan. The instrumental pieces "English Notes" and "Nadaswaram Bit" were originally composed by Muthiah Bhagavatar. After performing them at Ganesan's 42nd birthday celebrations, Ponnusamy and Sethuraman were asked to play them in the film. "Maraindhirundhu" was based on Shanmukhapriya raga. It is said that the director insisted on this raga, as the heroine is someone who falls in love with the hero whose name is Shanmugasundaram, and hence the raga whose name translates to "Adorer of Shanmukha". "Nalandhana" was based on Nilamani raga, which closely resembles Shivaranjani raga. The first line of "Nalandhana" was later used in the film Silambattam (2008). Under Mahadevan's supervision, Pugazhendi set the Sangatis for the film's soundtrack and score. The soundtrack received positive reviews from critics. Singer Charulatha Mani wrote for The Hindu on "Nalandhana" that, " ... one can feel the proximity in musicality. The Thavil beats, Nadaswara refrains and the honeyed voice all blend into an inviting melody composed by K.V. Mahadevan." For "Maraindhirundhu" she said, "The nadaswaram and thavil back-ups for this song and the jathi-s give it its typical classical flavour. 'Thooyane mayavaa mayane velava ennai aalum Shanmuga vaa' – these lines represent the ideal confluence of raga, bhava and lyric, a perfect foil to each other." According to film critic Randor Guy, "Nalandhana" became "one of the memorable song sequences with Sivaji Ganesan and AVM Rajan, playing the [Nadaswaram] on screen". He added, "In one song, the famous Tyagaraja kriti in Abheri, ‘Nagumomu Kanaleni’, Balaiah played the thavil in excellent sync with the background song that was recorded earlier in the studio, revealing how adept he really was with the instrument". Release Thillana Mohanambal was released on 27 July 1968. It was released with English subtitles in overseas countries. The film was shown for six weeks at theatres