Although filming began in 1987 , the film was released only a year after . It turned out to be a box-office failure but won critical acclaim . Balu Mahendra admitted that he did not expect the film to be a box-office success or a failure , but would have the satisfaction of having made a good film . Archana 's portrayal as a middle-class woman fetched her a lot of accolades from the critics . Chokkalinga Bhagavathar , who played her grandfather , received equal praise . He was a strong contender for that year 's National Film Award for Best Actor , but eventually lost to Kamal Haasan . At the 35th National Film Awards , the film won in two categories – Best Feature Film in Tamil , and Best Actress for Archana . The film was among the 16 films to be screened at the Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India in 1988 . In 2002 , the film was screened at the " Indian Summer " section of the Locarno International Film Festival . In a 2013 review , '' Ananda Vikatan '' called '' Veedu '' to be among the two films that took Tamil cinema to world cinema level . Further , it praised the film for highlighting the plight of Indian middle-class families and the political set up of the nation . It stated '' Veedu '' was one of the few Tamil films that scores good on both content and narration , and also appreciated Balu Mahendra 's directorial skills . Critics praised the film for being more visual and Balu Mahendra 's understanding of cinema as a visual medium . However , the magazine criticised the usage of background score in the film as it felt it lessened the impact of an otherwise good film . S. Theodore Baskaran in his '' The Eye of The Serpent : An Introduction To Tamil Cinema '' states that '' Veedu '' was a " striking departure " from the previous films of Balu Mahendra , as it was devoid of commercial elements like dance , songs , fight and comedy sequences . While analysing Archana 's characterisation , Baskaran noted Balu Mahendra 's penchant for strong characterisation of his female leads . Balu Mahendra had to construct a house which was mean to be a set for the house which was shown in the film . The building which was later fully constructed , now houses the film school started by Balu Mahendra in 2007 . In many interviews , Balu Mahendra had claimed that '' Veedu '' and '' Sandhya Raagam '' were the only films that satisfied him the most as he made these two the least number of mistakes and compromises . The film is widely considered to be one of the finest works of Balu Mahendra . The negative of the film is lost
35th National Film Awards
35th National Film Awards
Veedu (1988 film)