Maalai Pozhudhin Mayakathilaey

Maalai Pozhudhin Mayakathilaey
Promotional poster
Directed by	Narayan Nagendra Rao
Produced by	Mayuri Sekar
Written by	Narayan Nagendra Rao
Screenplay by	Narayan Nagendra Rao
Story by	Narayan Nagendra Rao
Starring	Aari Shubha Phutela Subbu Panchu
Music by	Achu
Cinematography	Gopi Amarnath
Edited by	M. Thiyagarajan
Production company	Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Creations
Distributed by	Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Creations
Release date	27 July 2012 (2012-07-27)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Maalai Pozhudhin Mayakathilaey (English: Entranced by Dusk) is a 2012 Tamil romantic film written and directed by Narayan Nagendra Rao. It features Aari and Shubha Phutela in the lead roles, with Subbu Panchu, Sivaji and Balaji in other pivotal roles. The soundtrack and background score was composed by Achu, while the film was produced by Mayuri Sekar.

In February 2010, the makers of Maalai Pozhudhin Mayakathilaey (MPM) announced that they were going to host auditions to select a heroine and a road show was subsequently held for two days around colleges and popular hangouts in Chennai. In March 2010, details about the project became more clear and it was announced that a team of five assistant directors were to come together to produce a film, setting a company up named 'Team AD'. It was revealed that the story is about the happenings that take place in just 2.5 hours, mentioning that the story starts at 6.30 pm, exactly when the show starts at a theatre, and ends at 9 pm, when the show ends. The five-member team — Narayanan, Arun, Sakthi, Manoj and Subash — decided that Narayanan would be the director. It was announced that Adith Arun, who played the lead role in Katha (2009) and Inidhu Inidhu (2010), would be paired opposite Regina Cassandra, who played the sister of Laila in Kanda Naal Mudhal. The film was expected to be shot and released by May 2010 but eventually failed to proceed so swiftly.

The film re-emerged in October 2011 where it was announced that the lead roles were being played by Aari of Rettaisuzhi fame and winner of Miss South India 2010, Shubha Phutela; while production was taken over by Mayuri Sekar. The actress had to learn Tamil, and it took her over two months of practice to get the pronunciation right. The director wanted to opt for live-sound recording, making it more difficult for the non-Tamil speaking actress. Shubha Phutela had to opt out of the Kannada film in February 2012, Jai Bhajarong Bali, choosing to give her priority dates to completing Maalai Pozhudhin Mayakathilaey. However, she died on October 2012 due to kidney problems. Aari mentioned that it was "really challenging to play an ordinary guy", as he had to consciously keep his emotions to a minimum at all times.