The film stars Vijayakanth and Revathi as two villagers, Vellaisamy and Vaidehi, whose lives undergo a drastic turn when they meet.

Vaidehi Kaathirundhal's story was developed based on songs that Ilaiyaraaja had composed, hoping to use them in potential film.

Vellaisamy is an unkempt derelict who lives by the village temple doing menial jobs to survive but has an impressive singing ability.

One day when some villagers spot Vellaisamy scribbling Vaidehi's name on the temple walls, rumours about them start circling.

Producer-lyricist Panchu Arunachalam, who used to listen to Ilaiyaraaja's unused songs and pick any of them he liked for future projects, wanted one of the six tunes for the film that would become Vaidehi Kathirunthal.

[8] The film was written and directed by R. Sundarrajan, and produced by Thooyavan under Appu Movies, while Arunachalam was credited as presenter.

[9] Anitha Kuppusamy was initially offered to be the lead actress, but she declined, citing a lack of interest in an acting career; the role went to Revathi.

[16] Y. G. Mahendran's wife Sudha had been contacted by Ilaiyaraaja's manager to sing in the film but, incorrectly believing it was a prank call, declined.

[20] The Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan, in its issue dated 2 December 1984, carried the reviews of multiple people who had seen the film.

[21] Kalki's critic posted similar views, praising the music but noting that despite so many positives, the film fell apart due to the subpar story.

[22] Despite facing competition from other Diwali releases such as Nallavanukku Nallavan and the Tamil-dubbed version of the Malayalam-language My Dear Kuttichathan,[20] the film was a commercial success, running for over 100 days in theatres.