Producer N. G. John, who had experienced success with Ee Nadu (1982) and Iniyengilum (1983), had been impressed with Mani Ratnam's debut film Pallavi Anu Pallavi (1983), a Kannada film that tackled a complex subject. John offered Ratnam the chance to direct a Malayalam film for his production house. Ratnam initially narrated the script of Mouna Ragam (1986), then titled Divya, to John but the producer wanted to make a political film. Subsequently, he began work on Unaroo, which revolved around corruption in the labour union movement and scripted the film alongside John and Damodaran. Ratnam revealed that he struggled with the film, owing to its alien concept from his previous film on human relationships, as well as due to the sheer number of artistes involved. The film began production in February 1984 and was shot in a single stretch.[5]
Soundtrack
The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and the lyrics were written by Yusufali Kechery.[6] The song "Theeram Thedi Olam Padi" is composed in Bageshri ragam, which was reused by Ilayaraja himself as "Roja Ondru Mutham Ketkum" in the film Komberi Mookan, that was released in the same year.
