Principal photography began in August 1965 and shooting took place in Shimla, Ooty, and at the hill station of Kufri.

It received positive reviews from critics, who particularly praised Ramachandran's performance, as he was known for doing mainly action and drama films up until that point in his career.

Upon his arrival, he discovers that his caretaker Krishnaiah has rented the bungalow to a Bangalore-based couple, Punyakodi and Pappamma, and their daughter, Geetha.

One day, Balu pretends to suffer from chest pain, which scares Geetha, causing her to finally admit that she loves him.

When Balu finally reveals himself as JB, Geetha, again not knowing what to believe, thinks the wedding plans are yet another of his pranks and tries to run away.

[7][8] Director A. C. Tirulokchandar prepared the story of Anbe Vaa based on the American romantic comedy film Come September (1961), with Ramachandran in mind, contrary to AVM's general practice of choosing actors for completed scripts.

[20][21] Saravanan states in his 2005 book AVM 60 Cinema that ₹ 300,000 was Ramachandran's salary, but the latter demanded an additional ₹ 25,000; his final pay was ₹ 325,000.

[42] Savi, an editor who worked for the Tamil magazine, Ananda Vikatan, accompanied the production unit and published an article on the making of the film.

[44][45] "Naan Paarthathile" was one of the film's few songs that was shot outdoors, as M. G. Ramachandran did not want to attract attention from his large fan following.

[47][48] The production unit, composed of 20 crew members, along with Tirulokchandar, M. G. Ramachandran, Saroja Devi and Savi, initially flew to Delhi.

Both Ramachandran and Saroja Devi were initially hesitant to perform the scene, but went through with it after they received encouragement from the local population.

[53][12] Although Saravanan has acknowledged to Anbe Vaa being based on Come September,[54] music historian Vamanan wrote for The Times of India that it was "structured as a Roman Holiday with a man as the protagonist".

[56] Sujatha Narayan, writing for The New Indian Express, noted that Anbe Vaa, like other films starring Ramachandran, reflected his personal belief of not being arrogant towards women, stating, "I recall one of my uncles telling me how MGR would never chase the heroine on screen, never display interest in her first, and how the heroine will always pine for him, even in an out-and-out romantic story like Anbe Vaa.

"[57] According to Tamil historian and author Sachi Sri Kantha, the song "Pudhiya Vaanam" had "delicately introduced" the symbol for the political party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a rising sun, through the lyrics which roughly translate to "While [the] rising sun shines, the world will become aware, the cool wind from Himalaya will touch the heart" in that pre-election year.

[20] Writing for the website Scroll.in, Karan Bali noted that though Anbe Vaa was not as "overtly political" as Ramachandran's other films, the black and red clothes he sports as JB in "Pudhiya Vaanam" was a reference to the colours of the DMK.

[62] "Pudhiya Vaanam" originally had the lyrics "udaya sooryanin paarvayile" (in the eyes of the rising sun), but after Meiyappan stated that the Censor Board would not accept it, Vaali amended the lyrics to "puthiya sooryanin paarvayile" (in the eyes of the new sun).

[68] Gopal Ethiraj, writing for the Asian Tribune, noted that "Pudhiya Vaanam" was one of several songs written by Vaali for Ramachadran that "helped the latter galvanize masses".

[72][73] "Naan Paarthathilae" was performed live by the Chennai-based music group Square Band at the concert "Isai Kaveri" hosted by the Bharathidasan Institute of Management in August 2012.

[81] In November 2008, the Tamil original was screened at the 39th International Film Festival of India under the segment "Lifetime Classics".

T. M. Ramachandran praised Maruthi Rao's cinematography and Tirulokchandar's direction, concluding, "The producers, M. Murugan, M. Kumaran and M. Saravanan, could well be proud of their work but this should inspire them to make bigger pictures in the future.

[86] Kalki appreciated Tirulokchander's direction, the capturing of Shimla on camera, the colouring process, Nagesh's humour and the performance of the lead pair.

[92] According to Vamanan, it emerged an "uncommon triumph" for M. G. Ramachandran, who had previously acted mainly in "scrappily made cop and robber flicks".

[95] Likewise, Vamanan noted that Tirulokchandar "had imbibed the deportment by observing his role model L V Prasad – that film stars looked up to him.

[55] The hat worn by Ramachandran onscreen attained popularity, at a time where there was a "minor hat-mania" in Tamil Nadu.

[96] Sujatha Narayanan considered Anbe Vaa the "forerunner to what we see today in the urban romance genre – of flirtatious interactions and ego in a relationship".

[99][100] In August 2016, the Studebaker President car driven by Saroja Devi in the film was on display at the 14th annual exhibitions held at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai.

[103] In Dhool (2003), Aarumugam (Vikram) echoes a single line, "Pudhiya Vaanam", to signal his arrival to his friends.