The Daytime Moon) is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language gangster film[2] written and directed by Mani Ratnam, starring Murali, Revathi and Sathyaraj.

Out of a sense of deep gratitude, he ends up joining the gang of Devaraj alias Periyavar and complications arise when he falls in love with Jyothi, the sister of Peter, an honest and committed police inspector who is newly posted to the town.

[5] Like with the producer of Unaroo (1984), Ratnam initially narrated the script of Mouna Ragam (1986), then under the title of Divya, but Thyagarajan wanted an action film; the pair eventually began work on Pagal Nilavu.

The producer suggested that Sathyaraj should play a character, while Murali and Revathi were also signed on for the lead roles in the film.

To make the film more commercially viable, Thyagarajan included a comedy subplot written by J. Livingston and Kumar, featuring Goundamani as a Malayali.