Nattamai

Nattamai (transl. Village Chief) is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. S. Ravikumar. It starred Sarath Kumar, Kushboo and Meena in the lead roles. The film became a blockbuster among 1994 Deepavali releases and completed a 175-day run at the box office. It is considered to be one of the most popular Tamil films of the 1990s and in general. It became a trendsetter for many films in later years. The Goundamani-Senthil comic duo was one of the most popular aspects of the film.

Nattamai
Theatrical release poster
Directed byK. S. Ravikumar
Produced byR. B. Choudary
Written byErode Soundar
(dialogue)
Screenplay byK. S. Ravikumar
Story byErode Sounder
StarringSarath Kumar
Kushboo
Meena
Vijayakumar
Manorama
Goudamani
Senthil
Music bySirpy
CinematographyAshok Rajan
Edited byK. Thanikachalam
Production
company
Distributed bySuper Good Films
Release date
2 November 1994
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Box office₹11 crore (equivalent to ₹58 crore or US$8.2 million in 2019)

R. Sarathkumar earned both the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor and Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for his performance in the film. The film was later remade in Telugu as Pedarayudu, in Hindi as Bulandi and in Kannada as Simhadriya Simha (2000).

Plot

Shanmugam (Sarath Kumar) is the village head, fondly called Nattamai. He is widely respected by everyone for his genuineness. He lives with his wife Lakshmi (Kushboo) and brother Pasupathi (R. Sarathkumar). Pasupathi is married to Meena (Meena). There is a long-standing enmity between Nattamai and his paternal cousin (Ponnambalam). A flashback is shown where Ponnambalam's father kills Shanmugam's father (Vijayakumar), following which Ponnambalam's family is expelled from the village. Ponnambalam waits for the right time to attack Nattamai's family. Ponnambalam's mother (Manorama) is Nattamai's paternal aunt. A new teacher (Rani), comes to the village and everyone suspects an illegitimate relationship between her and Pasupathi. One day, the teacher gets killed along with a death note mentioning Pasupathi as the reason behind her death, following which Nattamai expels Pasupathi out of the village. The teacher was actually killed by Ponnambalam, with plans of trapping Pasupathi in the murder. Manorama overhears the truth but gets locked by Ponnambalam at her home. Ponnambalam tries to kill Nattamai but gets killed by Manorama. Finally, Manorama informs the truth to Nattamai, which shocks him. Nattamai dies at the spot due to the guilt of giving a wrong judgment, and Pasupathi becomes the next Nattamai.

Cast

Production

Director K. S. Ravikumar initially approached Mammootty to play the lead role.[1] For reasons unknown, he declined the offer. Sarath Kumar was then signed for as the lead. The film became the fourth collaboration between Ravikumar and Sarathkumar. When K. S. Ravikumar approached Kushboo for Nattamai's wife role, initially 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 actress Lakshmi, this made Kusbhoo to take up this role. Mahendran was introduced as child artist through this film.[2] Vijayakumar was initially cast as the elder brother, but a few days before shooting began, Ravikumar decided to have Sarathkumar play both brothers and Bharathiraja was Ravikumar's initial choice for the character of Vijayakumar.[3][4]

Controversy

In his early days as an actor, R. Sarathkumar was considered to be close to AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa.[5] However, Sarath's proximity to Jayalalithaa landed him in deep trouble when the film 'Nattamai', 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 we will never know. However, this caused a furore in the film industry as the producer R. 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.[6]

Soundtrack
Nattamai
Soundtrack album by
Sirpy
Released1994
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LabelLucky Audio
ProducerSirpy

Soundtrack was composed by Sirpy and lyrics were written by Vairamuthu.

No.SongSingersLyrics
1Kambeduthu Vantha SingamMano, K. S. ChithraVairamuthu
2Kotta PaakkumS. Janaki, Mano
3Kozhi Kari KulambuK. S. Chithra
4Meena PonnuMano, Sujatha
5Naan UravukkaaranMohd. Aslam, Sujatha
6NaattamaiMalaysia Vasudevan, Sindhu

Release

Nattamai was released on 2 November 1994, during Diwali.[7] The Indian Express wrote that there was "never a dull moment" in the film.[8] It became a blockbuster and completed a 175-day run at the box office.[9]

Remakes

Owing to its success, the film was remade in Telugu as Pedarayudu (1995),[10] It was remade in Kannada as Simhadriya Simha (2001). It was also remade in Hindi as Bulandi (2000).[11] Rajinikanth reprised Vijayakumar's character in Telugu and Hindi remakes.

Legacy

The tagline Nattamai, theerpa maathi sollu (Chieftain, change your judgement) became popular after release.[12] 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 typecasted with similar characters in later films. The film gave breakthrough in the career of Sarathkumar and the actor did similar films - Suryavamsam (1997), Natpukkaga (1998), Maayi (2000), Diwan (2003) and Ayyaa (2005) which featured him in double roles in the backdrop of village.[13][14]

Nattamai has been parodied and referenced many times.[15] In a comedy scene from Aahaa Enna Porutham (1998), 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.[16] Comedian Vivek has parodied this aspect in many films. He did a similar spoof in Sandai (2008) and Thoondil (2008) and made fun of village rituals in Kadhal Sadugudu (2003). Scenes from the film was parodied in Shiva starrer Thamizh Padam (2010), Ponnambalam who did the negative role in the original film had appeared as village chieftain in this film.[17]

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References
  1. Shruti TV (15 July 2018). "கெட்டதா இருந்தாலும் Commercial படமும் வேண்டும்! - K. S. Ravikumar – Peranbu Audio Launch" – via YouTube.
  2. Kumar, S. R. Ashok (10 November 2013). "Audio Beat: Vizha – Tunes that will touch a chord". The Hindu. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  3. "DID YOU KNOW ?". The Times of India. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 29 January 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  4. IndiaGlitz Tamil Movies (15 April 2017). "Bharathiraja was my first choice for Nattamai, Nattpukaga : K S Ravikumar at Film Institute Launch" – via YouTube.
  5. "Star wars". India Today. 31 October 1995. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  6. G. C. Shekhar (31 December 1995). "Jayalalitha's unlucky stars". India Today. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  7. "The Indian Express - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  8. "The Indian Express - Recherche d'archives de Google Actualités". news.google.com.
  9. "வெள்ளி விழா கண்ட தமிழ் திரைப்படங்கள் - திண்ணை". puthu.thinnai.com.
  10. "Tamil Cinema news - Tamil Movies - Cine News". cinema.maalaimalar.com.
  11. "Rediff On The NeT, Movies: Bulandi review". www.rediff.com.
  12. "Top 7 Village Panchayat Presidents of Tamil cinema - Behindwoods.com - Tamil Movie Slide Shows - Rajinikanth Vijayakanth Sarath Kumar Mamooty". www.behindwoods.com.
  13. "- தமிழ் Movie News - IndiaGlitz.com".
  14. "Telugu Cinema News - Telugu Movie Reviews - Telugu Movie Trailers - IndiaGlitz Telugu".
  15. Kamath, Sudhish; Kamath, Sudhish (28 July 2013). "Getting it right". The Hindu – via www.thehindu.com.
  16. Aaha Enna Porutham (DVD).
  17. "Tamil Padam Movie Review (2.5/5): Critic Review of Tamil Padam by Times of India".
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