Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal () is a 1977 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by A. Bhimsingh and written by Jayakanthan. Based on Jayakanthan's novel of the same name, it stars Lakshmi and Srikanth, with C. K. Nagesh, Y. G. Parthasarathy, R. Neelakantan, Sukumari and S. Sundari Bai in supporting roles. The film revolves around a girl from an orthodox family whose life changes after a one-night stand. Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal was released on 1 April 1977 and became a commercial success. Lakshmi won the National Film Award for Best Actress, the film's only win at the 24th National Film Awards. Plot On a rainy night, Ganga, a college girl from an orthodox Tamil Brahmin family in Srirangam, has sex with a stranger after he offers her a ride in his car. She returns home dazed from the experience and when asked by her mother Kanagam about what happened, she confesses. Kanagam creates a ruckus; all the neighbours and relatives learn of it. Ganga's brother, the family's breadwinner, disowns and evicts her from the house. At the request of Kanagam, Ganga's maternal uncle Vengu takes her with him to Madras, and Ganga continues her education there. After graduating, she gets employed in a private firm and grows to take the top managerial position. Exploiting her blemished status, Vengu, who was once her guardian, makes sexual advances towards her several times, forcing Ganga to make Kanagam stay with her to keep herself protected from Vengu. R. K. Viswanatha Sarma, a writer who witnessed Ganga entering the car on that rainy night, writes a story in a magazine in which the lead character, a girl, is molested by a stranger; after she returns home, her mother conceals the truth, cleanses her through a bath and the girl is able to live normally. Ganga reads the story and recommends it to Kanagam, which makes her feel guilty about the ruckus she had created. Ganga, though successful at her workplace, remains withdrawn and aloof in life. When she rejects Vengu's advances, he challenges her to locate the stranger who had sex with her and live with him if she has the guts. Accepting the challenge, she takes Viswanatha Sarma's help, and locates Prabhakar alias Prabhu who offered her a ride on that rainy night. Prabhu is already married and has an adolescent daughter. He does not initially recognise Ganga as it was a