labelled an outright commercial picture. Later Mahendra noted that he made the film with a sole intention to prove critics that he could make commercial films. The following year, he collaborated with Rajinikanth to make Un Kannil Neer Vazhindal which turned out to be a commercial failure. He then worked on the Malayalam film Yathra (1985) with Mammooty in the lead role as a forest officer. The film was an adaptation of the 1977 Japanese classic The Yellow Handkerchief. Made with "artistic values" the film earned and ran for more than 200days in theatres and went on to become the highest-grossing Malayalam film of that year. By this time, he declined an offer to direct the Kannada film Malaya Marutha (1986). As a director who is known for making intense films, critics were surprised when he made Rettai Vaal Kuruvi (1987), a full-length comedy film. Closely based on the 1984 American film Micki and Maude, the film is regarded as one of the best comedies ever made in Tamil cinema during the decade. The film would serve as a base for his future films Marupadiyum (1993) and Sathi Leelavathi (1995) which explored similar themes. Towards the end of the decade, Mahendra made two low-budgeted films—Veedu (1988) and Sandhya Raagam (1989). While Veedu focused on the life of a lower middle-class urban woman and her struggle to build a house, Sandhya Raagam dealt with "old age". At the 35th, Veedu won two National Film Awards—including one for Best Regional Film—and Sandhya Raagam won the Best Film on Family Welfare two years later. According to Mahendra, both the films were a tribute to his mother and father respectively. He named these two films as his best works as they were made with fewest mistakes and compromises. In 1992, Mahendra made Vanna Vanna Pookkal which was produced by S. Dhanu. The film had a 100-day run and won the award for the "Best Regional Film" at the 39th National Film Awards. During this time M. Night Shyamalan, then a newcomer, approached Mahendra to be the cinematographer for his directorial debut Praying with Anger to which he refused. The next year, he remade Mahesh Bhatt's Arth in Tamil as Marupadiyum. Mahendra made the film as he felt it was close to his personal life. He then came up with a full-length comedy Sathi Leelavathi in 1995 which was produced by Kamal Haasan. The following