| Director: | Karaikudi Narayanan |
| Producer: | Karaikudi Narayanan Sethu Sundaram |
| Starring: | Muthuraman Lakshmi Ashokan |
| Cinematography: | K. S. Bhaskar Rao |
| Editing: | Kandhaswamy |
| Music: | Ilaiyaraaja |
| Runtime: | 110 minutes |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Tamil |
Achchani (;) is a 1978 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Karaikudi Narayanan, starring Muthuraman, Lakshmi and Ashokan. It is based on Narayanan's play of the same name. The film was released on 4 February 1978 and became a success.
Achchani is based on the play of the same name. The play was previously filmed in Malayalam under the same name.[1] Karaikudi Narayanan who wrote the play also directed the film adaptation making his directorial debut. Shobha made her debut with this film. Narayanan revealed despite wanting Jaishankar as the lead actor, he chose Muthuraman as per the producer's suggestion. The producer faced financial struggles during the shoot as he could not afford enough film rolls and money which led to the filming being stopped and getting restarted after six months. It was Meenakshi Sundaram who owned Ganesh Theatre at Melur and helped providing finance to complete the film.
The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.[2] The song "Thaalaattu" is set in the Carnatic raga known as Madhyamavati.[3] The song "Maatha Un Kovilil" was re-used in Naan Kadavul (2009).[4] Gangai Amaran who was assisting Ilayaraja at that time mentioned in an interview that it was inspired by "Awargi", a ghazal composed by Ghulam Ali. Ilaiyaraaja composed "Matha Un Kovilil" and "Thalatta Pillaiyundu" within three hours.
Achchani was released on 4 February 1978,[5] and was commercially successful.