Nattamai

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Nattamai is a 1994 Tamil drama directed by K. S. Ravikumar. It stars Sarathkumar in a rare dual role as Shanmugam, the village’s respected chief known as Nattamai, and his brother Pasupathi, with Khushbu as Shanmugam’s wife Lakshmi and Meena as Pasupathi’s wife Meena. The film, released on 2 November 1994 during Diwali, became a huge hit and ran for 175 days in theatres.

Plot in simple terms:
Shanmugam is the village head who handles justice in his Coimbatore region. His family respects him, and his younger brothers Pasupathi and Selvaraj look up to him. A long-ago feud involving their father, Periya Nattamai, and a man named Rajavelu leads to a false accusation and a brutal death. Periya Nattamai’s final judgment expels Rajavelu’s family from the village for 18 years and makes Shanmugam the new Nattamai. Years later, Rajavelu dies, but his son continues to hate Shanmugam’s family and schemes to destroy them. A tale of love, treachery, and a deadly misunderstanding unfolds, culminating in Kamatchi revealing the truth about a murder. Shanmugam dies after learning he had punished the wrong man, and Pasupathi steps in as the new Nattamai.

Production and reception notes:
The film features comedian duo Goundamani and Senthil, who provided popular humor. Ravikumar initially considered Mammootty for a supporting role and Bharathiraja for the elder brother part; Sarathkumar ultimately played both brothers. Khushbu initially hesitated to take the wife role but agreed after the director suggested a memorable casting alternative. The project also marked the rise of Sarathkumar as a leading star, and the filmmakers later remade the movie in Telugu as Pedarayudu (1995), in Hindi as Bulandi (2000), and in Kannada as Simhadriya Simha (2002).

Music and impact:
The soundtrack was composed by Sirpy with lyrics by Vairamuthu. Nattamai became a trendsetting hit in the 1990s, inspiring many village-chief themed films and even prompting parodies and references in later Tamil cinema. The film’s tagline, Nattamai, theerpa maathi sollu (Chieftain, change your judgement), became widely popular. Sarathkumar’s performance earned him Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor and a Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil.