Filmmakers Mysskin and Lokesh Kanagaraj have stated on various occasions that filmmaking would be much simpler without the challenge of creating song situations. Mysskin even goes on to call songs stumbling blocks to storytelling.

This problem would have been more pronounced decades ago, and we would have empathised with the filmmaker who gave into the 'song demands' of the market then. However, movie mogul AV Meiyappan dared to take the less-travelled road with his production venture Andha Naal, directed by S Balachander, starring Sivaji Ganesan, Pandari Bai and Javar Seetharaman. While dodging the song routine is some task even today, AV Meiyappan did the then-unthinkable in 1954. His experiment paid off as the lack of songs ensured the audiences were gripped by the screenplay of this whodunnit throughout the runtime.

Also, back in the days when a typical hero should either be a romantic poet or a swashbuckling warrior and a tramp was solely relegated to comic relief, Sabapathy, being a full-fledged comedy film, redefined the formula for a successful film. Meiyappan proved to be a trailblazer with his directorial debut, paving the way for comedy genre films.

AVM Productions, a creation of his, was launched during a time when the entire nation was filled with the fervour of freedom. Some of his production ventures, like Nam Iruvar (1947), promoted Gandhian ideology among the masses, highlighting the direction the nation needed to take after Independence. In Parasakthi (1951), he advocated for rational thinking and warned people about the dangers of blind obedience. These films underscored the social responsibility that Meiyappan carried and his commitment towards the well-being of the recently independent India.

Looking back at his works on his 118th birth anniversary, Meiyappan was an exemplary filmmaker in terms of experimentation, a solid steward in steering projects pregnant with relevant messages, and a responsible voice that never shied away from saying the right thing, even if it was unpopular.