Pillai Nila

Pillai Nilla is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language psychological horror film directed by Manobala, produced and written by P. Kalaimani. The film stars Mohan, Radhika, Jaishankar, Nalini, and Baby Shalini. It was released on 14 April 1985 and emerged a commercial success.

Plot
Dolly is the young sister of a widowed rich man named David. She falls in love with Mohan, who studies at her university. Before she tries to express her love, suddenly flies abroad for an office matter. Meanwhile, in India, Mohan's mother arranges his marriage with his cousin Bhuvana, and he marries her. When Dolly returns from abroad on her birthday, she expresses her love to Mohan, but he rejects her because his wife is pregnant. Dolly's obsession causes her to commit suicide in front of him at the hospital. At the same time, as his wife is giving birth. Their daughter, Shalini, is imbued with Dolly's evil spirit as Dolly takes revenge. What happens next is the rest of the story.

Production
After his directorial debut Agaya Gangai (1982) failed, Manobala did not get any further offers to direct which left him depressed and he contemplated suicide. P. Kalaimani approached Manobala to direct a film for him which was titled Muthal Vasantham; however the partners of Kalaimani were uninterested in having Manobala as director and replaced him with Manivannan. Despite this Kalaimani promised Manobala to direct a film which eventually became Pillai Nila.

The film took inspiration from various horror films such as Christine (1983), Poltergeist (1982), The Omen (1976) and The Exorcist (1973). The makers sought to avoid clichéd horror film tropes such as haunted houses, "sex-charged teenagers" and "unrealistic monsters in rubber masks".

Soundtrack
The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. It took him six days to finish the film's re-recording.

Release and reception
Pillai Nila was released on 14 April 1985, Puthandu. Despite facing competition from other films released in the same week including Mohan's own films Udaya Geetham and Deivapiravi, it emerged a commercial success. Jayamanmadhan (a duo) of Kalki wrote the first half was not so boring, but the second half did not test their patience at all. The duo praised Ashok Kumar's cinematography, the performances of Mohan, Nalini and Shalini but felt the climax was absurd.