''Nammavar'' () is a 1994 Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

-language

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

K. S. Sethumadhavan K. S. Sethumadhavan (15 May 1931 – 24 December 2021) was an Indian film director and screenwriter who worked predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He also directed films in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Since the early 1960s, he directed over 60 mo ...

and produced by B. Venkatarama Reddy. The film stars

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...

and

Gautami Gautami Tadimalla (born 2 July 1969), known mononymously as Gautami, is an Indian actress and politician who has worked mainly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films in addition to Hindi, and Kannada films. She was one of the leading South Indi ...

, while

Nagesh Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; (27 September 1933 – 31 January 2009) was an Indian actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 fi ...

Senthil Senthil (born 23 March 1951) is an Indian comedy actor who works in Tamil cinema. He is famous for his comedian roles along with fellow actor Goundamani. The pair dominated the Tamil industry as comedians in the 1980s and 90s.Kovai Sarala Kovai Sarala is an Indian actress and comedian, who prominently plays supporting roles in Tamil and Telugu films. She has won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Comedian three times, for her performances in '' Sathi Leelavathi'' (1995), '' ...

Srividya Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), also known as Sreevidya, was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, ...

and Karan play supporting roles. It follows a history lecturer of a college and how he tries to reform the downtrodden college by his initiatives and its consequences. The story and screenplay were written by Haasan, and the dialogues by Kanmani Subbu. The music was composed by debutant Mahesh Mahadevan with cinematography by

Madhu Ambat Madhu Ambat is an Indian cinematographer. With a career spanning over 40 years, he is one of the most prolific cinematographers in Indian cinema. He is best known for his work in films such as ''Amaram'', '' Anjali'', and ''Makaramanju''. He cu ...

, and editing by N. P. Satish. The film was inspired by various English-language films about universities and professors including '' To Sir, with Love'' (1967), ''

Class of 1984 ''Class of 1984'' is a 1982 crime action thriller film directed by Mark Lester and co-written by Tom Holland and John Saxton, based on a story by Holland. The film stars Perry King, Merrie Lynn Ross (who also served as co-executive producer), T ...

'' (1982) and ''

The Principal ''The Principal'' is a 1987 crime thriller action film starring Jim Belushi, Louis Gossett Jr. and Rae Dawn Chong. Written by Frank Deese and directed by Christopher Cain, it was filmed in Oakland, California, and at Northgate High School in ...

'' (1987). ''Nammavar'' was released on 2 November 1994,

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

day. It won three

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

: Best Feature Film in Tamil, Best Supporting Actor (Nagesh), and

Special Mention Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

(Mahesh); and two

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...

: Second Best Film and Special Prize (Nagesh).

Plot

V. C. Selvam, a history professor, is appointed as the vice principal of Sakthivel Arts College, which is riddled with students' unrest and conflicts. Ramesh, son of a major donor to the college, is a

spoiled brat A spoiled child or spoiled brat is a derogatory term aimed at children who exhibit behavioral problems from being overindulged by their parents or other caregivers. Children and teens who are perceived as spoiled may be described as "overindulged ...

and campus bully who influences other students by his vulgar display of money and power. Sparks fly between Selvam, who tries to bring in some order in the college, and Ramesh, who tries to spoil it from their first interaction. Selvam brings in changes. Students join together to paint the campus and bring in a clean look, introduces discipline in reporting time for professors and students, closes the canteen during lectures and opens a cultural centre for students. By adopting a different teaching technique, Selvam helps students to gain more focus. Vasanthi, a professor in the same college, initially disapproves of Selvam's methods, but finally finds them beneficial for the students and falls in love with him despite his initial resistance. Ramesh becomes displeased with the changes and is vexed at losing control over the students who are moving to Selvam's side. Ramesh tries to provoke Selvam, who does not respond. Ramesh injures himself and frames Selvam, which instigates the students to call for a strike. Despite many students supporting him, Selvam apologises for the sake of peace in the college. When Ramesh tries to derail the students' plan of participating in an inter-college cultural competition by destroying their musical instruments, Selvam uses the students' skills to create

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

music and wins the competition. After a student is hospitalised and needs blood urgently, Selvam chooses not to donate his blood, instead organising a donor. Vasanthi is disappointed at Selvam's decision and learns through his aide Perumal that Selvam has

blood cancer Tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (American English) or tumours of the haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (British English) are tumors that affect the blood, bone marrow, lymph, and lymphatic system. Because these tissues are all ...

; his days are numbered. Shocked, she resolves to marry Selvam soon. Though Selvam does not initially reciprocate, she manages to convince him. She also learns of Selvam's desire to seek answers to fight his inner demons by doing good to the college. Ramesh is suspended from college for drug dealing. He kidnaps his former friend Vijay's (who started supporting Selvam) girlfriend Nirmala, daughter of professor Prabhakar Rao, and implicates her in a brothel case, leading to her arrest. Though Selvam bails Nirmala out, she commits suicide out of disgrace. This provokes Vijay into trying to kill Ramesh. During the fight against Ramesh, Vijay is stabbed and Selvam comes to his rescue. Selvam is also stabbed, and people start throwing stones at Ramesh, but Selvam rescues him. Ramesh soon realises he is alone in the conflict; everyone in the college has deserted him. Selvam asks the students to forgive Ramesh and give him a second chance, which makes Ramesh repentant. Afterwards, Selvam and Vasanthi decide to leave to the United States seeking a cure for the cancer, hopeful that the college will be truly reformed when they return.

Cast

as V. P. Selvam *

as Vasanthi *

as Prabhakar Rao *

Kovai Sarala Kovai Sarala is an Indian actress and comedian, who prominently plays supporting roles in Tamil and Telugu films. She has won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Comedian three times, for her performances in '' Sathi Leelavathi'' (1995), '' ...

as Julie *

as Selvam's sister * Karan as Ramesh *

Delhi Ganesh Delhi Ganesh is an Indian actor who mostly acts in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He has acted in more than 400 films from 1976 to present. Before films, he was a member of the Delhi-based theatre troupe, ''Dakshina Bharata Nata ...

as Muthukumaraswamy Pillai *

Madhan Bob S. Krishnamoorthy (born 19 October 1953) professionally known as Madhan Bob, is an Indian actor and comedian, appearing in many Tamil films in supporting roles. Madhan Babu is known for his amusing facial expressions, laughter and protruding ey ...

as the Tamil lecturer Naidu *K. Vishnu as Muthukumaraswamy Pillai's son * Brinda as Nirmala The uncredited cast includes Ramji as Ramesh's friend Vijay,

Santhana Bharathi Santhana Bharathi is an Indian film director and actor who has primarily worked in Tamil cinema. Career Santhana Bharathi originally wanted to be a director but didn't get the right opportunity, even after working for a well known director ...

as Sakthivel, and

Sethu Vinayagam Sethu Vinayagam was an Indian stage and film actor who worked in Tamil films. He is the member of Visu's drama troupe and mostly seen in all Visu's movies. He has acted more over 100 films and plays and has made his mark as a villain, supportin ...

as Ramesh's father.

Production

Development

''Nammavar'' was directed by

and produced by B. Venkatarama Reddy under Chandamama Vijaya Combines. While the story and screenplay were written by

(who also played the lead role of Selvam), the dialogues were written by Kanmani Subbu. The film's title was chosen by Ananthu. Cinematography was handled by

, editing by N. P. Satish, and art direction by B. Chalam. The film was inspired by various English-language films about universities and professors including '' To Sir, with Love'' (1967), ''

'' (1982), and ''

'' (1987). It was the final Tamil film directed by Sethumadhavan.

Casting

was Sethumadhavan and Haasan's first choice for playing Vasanthi, and got the role. Though

, primarily a comedian, was initially hesitant to accept the role of Prabhakar Rao, he was nonetheless cast as Haasan was adamant on him acting in the film. Brinda was chosen to portray Rao's daughter Nirmala, and ''Nammavar'' was the only film she ever acted in. According to Sethumadhavan, casting Brinda was Haasan's idea.

Abhishek Shankar Abhishek Shankar is an Indian Tamil film and television actor who has worked on films and serials. Career Abhishek made his debut as an actor with Gnana Rajasekaran's critically acclaimed drama film '' Mogamul'' (1995), playing a leading role ...

, who later gained fame for the TV series '' Kolangal'', was initially approached to play the antagonist Ramesh, but could not accept the offer as he was committed to another film; the role went to Karan, upon Haasan's recommendation.

Vijay Sethupathi Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi (born 16 January 1978), known professionally as Vijay Sethupathi, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award. Fo ...

, then aged 16, had auditioned for a role, but was rejected because of his then short height, lean physique and inability to grow facial hair.

Filming

Principal photography began on 20 May 1994. The first day shoot was at held at

Vijaya Vauhini Studios Vijaya Vauhini Studios was one of the premier motion picture movie studios in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the combination of Vijaya Productions and Vauhini Studios. B. Nagi Reddy (Bommireddy Nagi Reddy) was the founder of Vijaya Produ ...

, with Karan and Haasan in a classroom scenario. The scene where Rao reacts to his daughter's death was filmed in one take, and Sethumadhavan chose not to say " cut" at the time.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Mahesh Mahadevan, while the lyrics were written by

Pulamaipithan Pulavar Pulamaipithan (6 October 1935 – 8 September 2021) was an Indian scholar, poet and lyricist who got recognition through the song "Naan yaar nee yaar" which was featured in the Tamil film ''Kudiyirundha Koyil'' in 1968. He briefly serve ...

and Vairamuthu. It was released under the label Music Master. ''Nammavar'' is the feature film debut for Mahesh, who previously composed advertising jingles. The song "Sorgam Enbathu Namakku" marked the debut of playback singer Srinivas.

Release

''Nammavar'' was released on 2 November 1994,

day. Made on a budget of 3.7 crore, the film grossed 9.75 crore. It was later dubbed in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

as ''Professor Viswam''.

Reception

Malini Mannath of ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

'' wrote on 11 November, "The filmmaker tries to be little different, at times moving away from cliches and conclusions. But he couldn't entirely do without them either." On 14 November, K. Vijiyin of ''

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...

'' wrote, "With its realistic dialogue and quiet humour, ''Nammavar'' looks like a winner for Kamalhassan." Balaji T.K. of ''INDOlink'' wrote "Kamal's taut and flawless Screenplay handled with aplomb by Sethumadhavan separates ''Nammavar'' from the run on the mill stuff churned out in the name of Tamil cinema from the mills in Kodambakkam. The story is nothing new, and is similar to '' Thalaivasal'' ..but the manner in which its been handled makes this one of the most enjoyable movie going experiences in recent times, with the right measure of drama, action, pathos and humor supported by excellent acting and pleasing background music and good cinematography". Thulasi of ''

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

'' appreciated the film for various aspects, including Sethumadhavan's direction, the cast performances and the music. On 27 November, ''

Ananda Vikatan ''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. History and profile ''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 wa ...

'' wrote, "Overall, with superb dialogues, beautiful camera work, impressive background score and Kamal's interesting acting enable the film to score".

Accolades

Legacy

Following the film's release, "Nammavar" became a popular nickname for Haasan among his fans. Karan's performance was considered his ''tour-de-force'' by critics, and he regards the film as a breakthrough in his career. Film historian

S. Theodore Baskaran Sundararaj Theodore Baskaran (born 1940) is a film historian and wildlife conservationist from Tamil Nadu, India. Early life and education Theodore Baskaran was born in Dharapuram, (in present-day Tiruppur district, Tamil Nadu) in 1940. He ...

felt that ''

Oru Thalai Ragam ''Oru Thalai Ragam'' () is a 1980 Indian Tamil-language romantic musical film written by Rajendar and produced by E. M. Ibrahim who is credited for direction. The film stars Shankar and Roopa, with Raveendar, Chandrasekhar, Kailashnath, Ku ...

'' (1980) and ''Nammavar'' were the "two most representative Tamil films about students". In the 2021 film ''

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

'', JD ( Vijay) is referred to as the student of Professor Selvam, who he considers as his inspiration and becomes alcoholic after his death.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* {{NationalFilmAwardBestFeatureFilmTamil 1990s Tamil-language films 1994 films Best Tamil Feature Film National Film Award winners Films about educators Films directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor National Film Award-winning performance Films set in universities and colleges Indian drama films Indian films about cancer