Or Iravu was a stage play written by Annadurai. It was originally written for K. R. Ramasamy's Krishnan memorial drama company by Annadurai . Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar of AVM productions decided to make a film based on the play. Annadurai was paid 10,000 Rupees for writing the screenplay. Annadurai went to AVM studios and wrote the entire script and dialogues totaling 300 pages in a single night. The screenplay was later modified by the director and the producer of the film. This was the third film to be made based on Annadurai's plays, after Velaikaari (1949) and Nallathambi (1949). Or iravu depicted events that happen in a single night. Older incidents were depicted using flashbacks. However in the film version, flash backs were replaced with a linear narration.[6] Or iravu tells the story of a thief who breaks into a rich man's house without knowing that the rich man is his own father who had abandoned him and his mother long ago.