''Gaayathri'' is based on [[Sujatha (writer)|Sujatha]]'s novel of the same name,<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 May 2007 |title=RajnikathRajni, the villain |url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/may/21slid5.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604044459/https://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/may/21slid5.htm |archive-date=4 June 2021 |access-date=4 June 2021 |website=[[Rediff.com]]}}</ref> and was conceived during [[The Emergency (India)|the Emergency]].{{sfn|Ramachandran|2014|p=71}} The screenplay was written by [[Panchu Arunachalam]].<ref name="hindutamil">{{Cite news |last=ராம்ஜி |first=வி. |date=7 Oct 2020 |title=சுஜாதாவின் நாவல்; வில்லன் ரஜினி; பரிதாப ஸ்ரீதேவி; காப்பாற்றும் ஜெய்சங்கர்; பஞ்சு அருணாசலத்தின் 'காயத்ரி' - உயிரை உருக்கும் 'வாழ்வே மாயமா' பாடல் |language=ta |work=[[Hindu Tamil Thisai]] |url=https://www.hindutamil.in/news/cinema/tamil-cinema/588058-43-years-of-gayathri.html |url-status=live |access-date=4 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122230121/https://www.hindutamil.in/news/cinema/tamil-cinema/588058-43-years-of-gayathri.html |archive-date=22 November 2020}}</ref>
