The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Savitri, and K. B. Sundarambal, with T. S. Balaiah, R. Muthuraman, Nagesh, T. R. Mahalingam, K. Sarangapani, Devika, Manorama, and Nagarajan in supporting roles.

Thiruvilaiyadal was released on 31 July 1965 to critical praise for its screenplay, dialogue, direction, music and the performances of Ganesan, Nagesh and Balaiah.

The Hindu god Shiva gives a sacred mango fruit, brought by the sage Narada, to his elder son Vinayaka as a prize for outsmarting his younger brother Muruga in a competition.

Knowing that he cannot win, the troubled Banabathirar prays to Shiva—who appears outside Bhagavathar's house in the form of a firewood vendor the night before the competition, and shatters his arrogance by singing "Paattum Naane".

After listening to the stories, Muruga realises that this too was one of Shiva's divine games to test his patience; he then reconciles with his family.

In 1965, after the critical and commercial success of Navarathri (1964), its director A. P. Nagarajan and producer A. M. Shahul Hameed came together to make a film entitled Siva-Leela, later retitled Thiruvilaiyadal.

It was inspired by the Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam, a collection of sixty-four 16th-century Shaivite devotional epic stories by Paranjothi Munivar, which describe the actions (and antics) of Shiva on Earth in a number of disguises to test his devotees.

We had such a degree of understanding that we enacted the scene with immaculate timing and with the required expressions in one continuous shot.Thiruvilaiyadal was shot on a custom-built set at Vasu Studios in Madras (now Chennai).

[29][30] Asked by his biographer, T. S. Narayanawami, about the Tandava he performed in the film, Ganesan replied that he simply learned the movements necessary for the dance and followed the choreographer's instructions.

According to the narrator (Nagarajan), Shiva does what he does to test the patience of his disciples; the god plays games, which evoke more devotion in the hearts of his worshippers.

[34] According to Hari Narayan of The Hindu, Thiruvilaiyadal celebrates the deeds of a god (in this case, Shiva) by depicting miracles performed by him.

[35] R. Bharathwaj wrote for The Times of India that the story of the competition between Hemanatha Bhagavathar and Banabathirar is comparable to a contest between Carnatic music composer Shyama Shastri and Kesavvaya, a singer from Bobbili.

[1] K. V. Mahadevan composed the film's soundtrack and score,[38][39] Kannadasan wrote the song lyrics except for the first portions of "Pazham Neeyappa", which were written by Sankaradas Swamigal.

[40] Nagarajan initially wanted Sirkazhi Govindarajan to sing "Oru Naal Podhuma", but he refused and M. Balamuralikrishna sang the song.

[58] Songs from the album, including "Pazham Neeyappa", "Oru Naal Podhuma", "Isai Thamizh", "Paarthal Pasumaram" and "Paattum Naane", became popular with the Tamil diaspora.

[2] Film historian Randor Guy, in his 1997 book Starlight, Starbright: The Early Tamil Cinema, said "Pazham Neeyappa" (performed by Sundarambal) was the "favourite of millions".

Although Meenakshi Ammal felt it was unnecessary to have a Tamil poet (Dharumi) do comedy, Shanmugam Pillai applauded Nagesh for showing his comic skills even in a mythological.

Meenakshi Ammal noted that at a time where social films[a] were dominating Tamil cinema, a mythological like Thiruvilaiyadal was a welcome change and deserved another viewing.

[70] On 7 August 1965, The Indian Express appreciated Nagarajan for treating the four episodes adapted from the Thiruvilayadal Puranam with "due reverence and respect" and chaste Tamil dialogue (a "delight to the ears").

However, the reviewer derided Nagarajan's "unimaginative" handling of the fisherman episode and Ganesan's "awkward" gestures, which turned what would have been a "sublime, divine love story" into a typical "boy-meets-girl affair".

The reviewer criticised Ganesan for overacting while opining that Savitri had nothing to do, but commended the performances of Sundarambal, Mahalingam, Balaiah, Nagesh, Sarangapani, Muthuraman and Nagarajan.

[71] On 4 September 1965, T. M. Ramachandran wrote for Sport and Pastime, "Both for the devout Hindu and the average movie fan, the picture provides such elements that sustain their interest from beginning to end."

He noted that although there were anachronisms such as telephone and telegraph wires visible, "these defects pale into insignificance before the gloss and satisfying impact of the film as a whole on the minds of cinegoers."

Sri Vijayalakshmi Pictures disputed Vijaya's claim by running an advertisement in a Tamil newspaper on 18 May 2012 saying that it owned the film's rights, and anyone who wanted to exhibit it in a digital format should only do so with their permission.

[85] Nagarajan and Ganesan collaborated on many more films in the genre, including Saraswathi Sabatham (1966), Thiruvarutchelvar (1967), Kandhan Karunai (1967) and Thirumal Perumai (1968).

[81][88][89] In July 2007, when S. R. Ashok Kumar of The Hindu asked eight notable directors to list ten films they liked the most, C. V. Sridhar and Ameer chose Thiruvilaiyadal.

[100] In his review of Oru Kanniyum Moonu Kalavaanikalum (2014), Baradwaj Rangan noted that the use of touchscreen human facial icons on mobile apps was a "Thiruvilaiyadal-like framing device".

[101] The Star Vijay comedy series Lollu Sabha parodied the film twice: in an episode of the same name,[102] and in a contemporary version titled Naveena Thiruvilayaadal.

[103] After T. M. Soundararajan's death in May 2013, M. Ramesh of Business Line wrote: "The unforgettable sequences from ... [Thiruvilaiyadal] ... have forever divided the world of Tamil music lovers in two: those who believe that the [Oru Naal Podhuma] of the swollen-headed Hemanatha Bhagavathar could not be bested, and those who believe that Lord Shiva's Paattum Naane Bhavamum Naane won the debate hands down".

"[106] After Manorama's death in October 2015, Thiruvilaiyadal was ranked eighth on The New Indian Express' list of top movies featuring the actress.