Azhiyadha Kolangal

Azhiyadha Kolangal
LP Vinyl Records Cover
Directed by	Balu Mahendra
Produced by	Devi Films (P) Ltd.
Written by	Balu Mahendra
Starring	Prathap K. Pothan Shobha
Music by	Salil Chowdhury
Cinematography	Balu Mahendra
Edited by	D. Vasu
Distributed by	Devi Films (P) Ltd.
Release date	7 December 1979
Running time	100 mins.
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Azhiyadha Kolangal (English: (lit.) Enduring Patterns) is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language coming-of-age film directed by Balu Mahendra, starring Prathap K. Pothan and Shobha. Kamal Haasan played a guest role in the film. The film was Balu Mahendra's second directorial venture and his first in Tamil. Partly autobiographical, the film dealt with the events that happen during the adolescence of three friends who live in a small village. In addition to directing the film, Balu Mahendra wrote the screenplay and shot the film. The film was released on 7 December 1979. Upon release, Azhiyadha Kolangal received critical acclaim, and was premièred at the "Indian Panorama" of the International Film Festival of India in 1980.

Gowrishankar, a managing director of a company in Madras (presently called Chennai), receives a letter from his childhood friend Pattabi. The story goes into a flashback mode where he along with Pattabi and another friend Raghupathi live in a small village. The three friends who are in their teens, get attracted to Indumathi, a school teacher who comes to their village, and try to impress her. The film ends with a tragic note where Raghupathi gets drowned in a river, eventually leading to his death.

After the critical and commercial success of his directorial debut Kokila, Balu Mahendra decided to make a film in Tamil, that was partly autobiographical according to him. It was during this time, he was approached by J. Mahendran to shoot Mullum Malarum, the latter's directorial debut. Initially hesitant to work in Tamil films, Balu Mahendra accepted the offer, thus entered the Tamil film industry as a cinematographer. Because of his commitments with Mullum Malarum, he shelved his directorial venture. After the success of Mullum Malarum, he revived the project and named it Azhiyadha Kolangal. The film was produced by Devi Films of Devi Theatre Complex. The film was shot at Pettavaithalai,Sirugamani and Inungoor near Trichy in 27 days within the budget of 8 lakhs.