| Nattamai | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | K. S. Ravikumar |
| Screenplay by | K. S. Ravikumar |
| Story by | Erode Soundar |
| Produced by | R. B. Choudary |
| Starring | Sarathkumar Khushbu Meena |
| Cinematography | Ashok Rajan |
| Edited by | K. Thanikachalam |
| Music by | Sirpy |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | ₹55 lakh[1] |
Nattamai (transl. Village Chief) is a 1994 IndianTamil-languagedrama film written and directed byK. S. Ravikumar. It starsSarathkumar,Khushbu andMeena. The film was released on 2 November 1994, duringDiwali, and completed a 175-day run at the box office. It is considered one of the most popular Tamil films of the 1990s and in general. It became a trendsetter for many films in later years. TheGoundamani-Senthilcomic duo was one of the most popular aspects of the film.
Sarathkumar earned both theTamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor andFilmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for his performance in the film. The film was later remade inTelugu asPedarayudu (1995), inHindi asBulandi (2000) and inKannada asSimhadriya Simha (2002).
Shanmugam is the village head, fondly calledNattamai in his village inCoimbatore region. He is the Chair of the Village Administration and also the unofficial judge in the village meetings, a post his family has held for generations in his village to do justice. He hears all the cases and gives solutions to the people and even punishments to the wrongdoers. His wife Lakshmi admires and respects him. His brothers Pasupathi and Selvaraj also have a lot of respect for him as he has brought them up as his children. Pasupathi marries Meena, the daughter of an industrialist Rajarathnam. She initially dislikes ShanmugamNattamai because of his verdicts and attitude and her husband for being so timid with his brother but later transforms after learning of the former's greatness from her father. Selvaraj loves his village bellee Kanmani, who is his paternal aunt Kamatchi's granddaughter.
In the flashback, Periya Nattamai, the father of Shanmugam, Pasupathi and Selvaraj, orders Kamatchi's son (and Kanmani's father) Rajavelu to marry his servant's daughter whom he raped. Kamatchi (who is Periya Nattamai's sister) had met him the previous day to ask for a false judgement in favour of her son. However, she was told strictly to not interfere with the judgments. His brother-in-law, (Rajavelu's father and Kamatchi's husband, shoots him as he is disappointed by his verdict. Enraged, Periya Nattamai gives his final judgment before dying. He expels Rajavelu's family from the village for 18 years and makes Shanmugam the new Nattamai before dying.
Years later, Rajavelu's father dies. Rajavelu builds envy on his uncle's family and waits for an opportunity to take revenge on them. He hires a woman as the village school teacher and asks her to make Pasupathi fall for her. She does so to save her father who is in Rajavelu's custody. However, Rajavelu kills the teacher and makes the villagers believe that Pasupathi had committed the murder. Shanmugam sentences ten years of exile for Pasupathi and his wife Meena alone accompanies him and they stay in the yard house. Rajavelu learns of his daughter's love for Selvaraj and tries to kill him with the help of his goons. Pasupathi goes to his rescue and a pregnant Meena goes to Shanmugam to convey this message. While Pasupathi starts to take revenge on Rajavelu, Kamatchi rushes to Shanmugam, kills her son Rajavelu and reveals the truth about the death of the teacher and tells Shanmugam that he punished his innocent brother and blamed him for the death of the teacher all of which were really perpetrated by Rajavelu. Shanmugam dies upon learning that he gave a wrong judgment and Pasupathi is shown taking his place as the newNattamai.
Special appearances
DirectorK. S. Ravikumar initially approachedMammootty to play the supporting role played by Vijayakumar.[4] For reasons unknown, he declined the offer.Sarathkumar was then signed for as the lead. The film became the fourth collaboration between Ravikumar and Sarathkumar. When Ravikumar approachedKhushbu for Nattamai's wife role, she hesitated as in most part of the film she had to look old, except in a brief flashback. She asked him whom he will cast if she denies, Ravikumar said he will approach veteran actressLakshmi; this made Kusbhoo to take up this role.[5]Mahendran was introduced as child artist through this film.[6] Vijayakumar was initially cast as the elder brother, but a few days before shooting began, Ravikumar decided to have Sarathkumar play both brothers andBharathiraja was Ravikumar's initial choice for the character of Vijayakumar.[7][8]
In his early days as an actor, Sarathkumar was considered to be close toAIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa.[9] However, Sarath's proximity to Jayalalithaa landed him in deep trouble whenNattamai, which was still running in Tamil Nadu theatres, was aired by Jayalalithaa's television channel JJ TV, using a U-matic tape, which Sarathkumar gave her for personal viewing at her residence. What the understanding between Jayalalithaa and Sarathkumar was not clear. However, this caused a furore in the film industry as the producerR. B. Choudary threatened action against Sarathkumar for misusing a tape given to him for personal viewing. An embarrassed Sarathkumar explained that he was taken by surprise and that he never expected Jayalalithaa to give it to the channel for telecast. He sought an explanation from both Jayalalitha and JJ TV, but without success. The ruling party reacted predictably, using every forum to attack Sarathkumar.[10]
Soundtrack was composed bySirpy and lyrics were written byVairamuthu.[11][12]
| Song | Singers |
|---|---|
| "Kambeduthu Vantha Singam" | Mano,K. S. Chithra |
| "Kotta Paakkum" | S. Janaki, Mano |
| "Kozhi Kari Kulambu" | K. S. Chithra |
| "Meena Ponnu" | Mano,Sujatha |
| "Naan Uravukkaaran" | Mohammed Aslam, Sujatha |
| "Naattamai" | Malaysia Vasudevan, Sindhu |
Nattamai was released on 2 November 1994, duringDiwali.[13]The Indian Express wrote that there was "never a dull moment" in the film.[14] Thulasi ofKalki noted Manorama and Vinu Chakravarthy for sentiment, Sangavi for glamour; Vaishnavi to cry; Ponnambalam to get thrashed and die. She said Sirpy's music makes one listen to it again and again even if they remember hearing it somewhere. Thulasi called the comedy routine and concluded by asking why is that the Tamil cinema hero has to be portrayed as a superman even if he is a villager.[15] It became a blockbuster and completed a 175-day run at the box office.[16]
The success of the film promptedSuper Good Films, K. S. Ravikumar, Erode Soundar and Sarathkumar to announce a film titledPaamaran soon after. However, the project was later stalled owing to a fallout between the actor and the director. Despite discussions for directorVikraman to take over the film, the project was stalled.[17]
Owing to its success,Nattamai was remade in Telugu asPedarayudu (1995),[citation needed] in Kannada asSimhadriya Simha (2001) and in Hindi asBulandi (2000).[18]
The taglineNattamai, theerpa maathi sollu (Chieftain, change your judgement) became popular after release.[citation needed] It became a trendsetter for many films in later years. The success of the film inspired similar themes about village chieftain. Vijayakumar's portrayal of village chieftain received critical acclaim and he went on to be typecast in later films. The film gave breakthrough in the career of Sarathkumar and the actor did similar films –Surya Vamsam (1997),Natpukkaga (1998),Maayi (2000),Diwan (2003) andAyyaa (2005) which featured him in double roles in the backdrop of village.[citation needed]
Nattamai has been parodied and referenced many times.[19] In a comedy scene fromAahaa Enna Porutham (1997),Goundamani mocks at the superstitions of village panchayat saying that chieftain should have assistant tagging along with him and should have a pot of water.[20] ComedianVivek has parodied this aspect in many films. He did a similar spoof inSandai (2008) andThoondil (2008) and made fun of village rituals inKadhal Sadugudu (2003). Scenes from the film was parodied inShiva starrerTamizh Padam (2010), Ponnambalam who did the negative role in the original film had appeared as village chieftain in this film.[21] In 2021,Pothys' Deepavali ad featuredRithvik in six roles, which was noted to be similar toNattamai.[22]
