[a] Starring T. R. Rajakumari, M. G. Ramachandran and V. Nagayya, it is an adaptation of the 1877 novel Anna Karenina by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.

Panakkaari was based on Russian writer Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina.

It was directed by K. S. Gopalakrishnan[a] under the technical supervision of Newtone Studio founder Jiten Bannerjee.

[4] According to historian Randor Guy, the film failed at the box office "mainly because of its ‘anti-sentimental’ storyline".

During the same period, another film, Pitchaikkari, became a major commercial success; people in Madras would often joke, "Those who bought Panakkari became pitchaikkaarans (beggars), while buyers of Pitchaikkari became panakkarans (rich men)!