En Manaivi was a 1942 Tamil language film produced by Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar

Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar

Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar , also known as A. V. Meiyappan or AVM was an Indian film producer, director and philanthropist who established the AVM Productions in Vadapalani, Chennai. He is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of Tamil cinema, and one of three movie moguls of the South Indian film...

 and directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni

Sundar Rao Nadkarni

Sundar Rao Nadkarni was an Indian film actor, editor, cinematographer and director. He was the director of the record-creating Tamil film Haridas.- Early life :...

.

Pre-production

Encouraged by the success of his comedy movie Sabapathy

Sabapathy (1941 film)

Sabapathy is a 1941 Tamil film directed and produced by A. V. Meiyappan and A. T. Krishnaswamy. It was a comedy film starring T. R. Ramachandran, Kali N. Ratnam and K. Sarangapani.-Production:...

, Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar wanted to make another film of the same genre. He sought out Marathi film director Sundar Rao Nadkarni

Sundar Rao Nadkarni

Sundar Rao Nadkarni was an Indian film actor, editor, cinematographer and director. He was the director of the record-creating Tamil film Haridas.- Early life :...

 who had recently entered the Tamil film industry with Shantha Sakkubai

Shantha Sakkubai

Shantha Sakkubai was a 1939 Tamil film starring K. Aswathamma, Bannibai, K. Sarangapani, Kothamangalam Seenu, Kothamangalam Subbu, P. G. Venkatesan, S. S. Rajamani, K. Aranganayaki, T. S. Krishnaveni, M. A. Ganapathi Bhat and Sundar Rao Nadkarni...

. The film was based on a Marathi story and was a social comedy. K. Mahadevan who had played the role of the Hindu sage Narada

Narada

Narada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...

was casted as a flirtatious young man.