Chandralekha
The script had two main parts: princes in a kingdom. The older was the hero, and the younger was the villain. M. K. Radha got the role of Sasankan, the young prince. He usually did hero roles, so he didn't want to be a villain. So, he agreed to be Veerasimhan, the older prince. His wife Gnanambal asked Vasan to cast Radha in the role. K. J. Mahadevan (a member of Gemini's story team) was chosen by Vasan to play Sasankan. Some footage filmed of Mahadevan. His performance seen as "too soft." He was removed; but, he stayed on the project as a scriptwriter and assistant director. Raghavachari suggested Ranjan as Sasankan. Vasan was unsure at first, thinking Ranjan was too soft for the very serious villain role. But later, Vasan agreed. Ranjan was busy with another movie, Saalivaahanan, but Kittoo convinced him to try for Chandralekha. Ranjan got a few days off, did a test, and it went well. So, Ranjan got the role.