a Film Festival held at Thiruvananthapuram in September 2014. Moondram Pirai was dubbed into Telugu under the title Vasantha Kokila. The film was remade in Hindi as Sadma (1983), with Mahendra again directing while Haasan, Sridevi and Smitha reprised their roles. Critical reception Moondram Pirai received critical acclaim. Ananda Vikatan, in its original review of the film, dated 7 March 1982, praised the performances of Haasan and Sridevi, Ilaiyaraaja's background score and songs and the photography by Balu Mahendra, and gave the film 53 marks out of 100. Mid-Day critic wrote that in Moondram Pirai, Mahendra "does not narrate a story in the traditional sense of the term. What embellish the film are not incidents or characters as they are commonly understood. He presents a whole fascinating array of vignetes and couches them in such endearing cinematic terms that it turns out to be a significant achievement not only for himself but also for the ethos he represents." Kalki appreciated Moondram Pirai as a rare film where the lead actress was able to outshine Haasan in acting. The critic also liked the way the story of the Blue Jackal was incorporated into the screenplay, appreciated Mahendra's cinematography, and concluded that the film was as perfect as a full moon. The magazine Aside gave a less favourable review, calling the film "a neon moon" and said, "There was at one time a brooding, premonitory quality about Balu Mahendra's movies ... but (he) has now gone into the trade of picture postcards and pani puri." After a brief word of praise for Haasan's performance in the climax ("darkly luminescent, like a rain drenched monsoon night") the reviewer added, "Kamal makes a very amusing monkey, but should he not rather be playing a human character?" Accolades According to Thyagarajan, Sridevi was a strong contender for the National Film Award for Best Actress, but lost to Shabana Azmi because of politics: "The makers of Arth had lobbied for Shabana Azmi to make her win. By the time we got to know this, it was too late". Legacy Moondram Pirai attained cult status in Tamil cinema for its "unique amalgamation of high emotional quotient and film-making style". The climax scene where Haasan's character, Cheenu, runs after Sridevi's character, Bhagyalakshmi, who has recovered her memory but forgets the incidents that occur between her accident and recovery completely, and Cheenu trying desperately to make Bhagyalakshmi remember the