Maya Mayavan

Sabapathy Mudaliar, a wolf in sheep's clothing and womaniser, lusts for a young woman named Indira, and tries to make her his own by any means possible, despite already having a mistress who is a dancer named Sundari. Jagadish, a detective, decides to save Indira, with whom he becomes hopelessly enamored. The duo face many obstacles made by Sabapathy and his partners in crime. But by utilising his investigator abilities, he prevails with regards to saving his lover and the two marry.[1][2]

Cast adapted from the film's songbook:[2]

Maya Mayavan was produced by T. R. Sundaram under his Salem-based production company Modern Theatres. It was directed by B. Sampathkumar and written by S. Velsamy Kavi.[1] The length of the film was 15500 feet.[3]

The music of the film was composed by G. Rajagopal Naidu. S. Velusami wrote the lyrics. The singers were Miss K. Kokila, Miss J. Susheela Devi, Venugopala Sharma, Venu Chetti, and T. K. Sampangi. P. G. Venkatesan, popularly known as the "Saigal of South India", worked as a playback singer on two of the songs.[1][2][3]

Orchestra[2]

• Rajagopal Naidu – Fiddle
• Ibrahim – Organ & Piano
• K. Rangaiah Naidu – Clarinet
• T. P. Chinaiah – Tabla

Maya Mayavan was released on 22 October 1938.[3] According to film historian Randor Guy, the film did "not leave much of an impact on viewers", but he said it would be remembered for "interesting storyline, exciting car chases on lonely highways, kidnappings and thrilling sequences, rarely seen in Tamil Cinema of that era."[1]