Naattupura Paattu (transl. Folk song) is a 1996 Tamil language drama film written and directed by Kasthuri Raja. The film stars Sivakumar, Selva, and Khushbu, with Manorama, Goundamani, Senthil, Vinu Chakravarthy, Kumarimuthu, Prem, Anusha and Abhirami playing supporting roles. The film, produced by Vijayalakshmi Kasthuri Raja, had musical score by Ilaiyaraaja and was released on 9 February 1996.[1][2]

Nattupura Pattu
Poster
Directed by	Kasthuri Raja
Written by	Kasthuri Raja
Produced by	Vijayalakshmi Kasthuri Raja
Starring	Sivakumar Selva Khushbu Manorama Goundamani Senthil Vinu Chakravarthy Kumarimuthu Prem Anusha Abhirami
Cinematography	Kichas
Edited by	L. Kesavan
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja
Production company	Kasthoori Manga Creations
Release date	9 February 1996 (1996-02-09)
Running time	135 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Parijatham (Khushbu) was a famous folk dancer in her village and many rich landlords tried to woo her. Parijatham's mother Pattamma wanted a son-in-law who will let Parijatham dance after the marriage. She finally married another folk dancer Palanisamy (Sivakumar). Palanisamy's brother Kottaisamy (Selva) was a young wastrel who spent his time with Kattamuthu (Goundamani). Later, Parijatham changed Kottaisamy into a responsible person. Kottaisamy married the folk dancer Mala (Abhirami). Rumours around Parijatham and the rich landlord Naicker (Vinu Chakravarthy) became more intense. Palanisamy could not bear this rumour and split up with the pregnant Parijatham. One day, Kattamuthu's sister was raped by a rich landlord, she then committed suicide and Kottaisamy ridiculed the rapist in public. After this incident, the rapist joined forces with the other landlords, they prevented Kottaisamy to dance for the village festival. So Kottaisamy and Mala struggled to survive, Mala eventually died during a dance show and Kottaisamy became a drunkard. In the meantime, Palanisamy brought up alone his baby son and Parijatham had to stop dancing.

Many years later, Palanisamy's son Velpandi (Prem) falls in love with Amaravathi (Anusha). Palanisamy finally apologizes to his wife Parijatham while Kottaisamy decides to take revenge on his enemies. What transpires next forms the rest of the story.

Cast

Production

Kasthuri Raja revealed that when he first started the film he had no script except the title. The struggles of folk artists in Theni formed the basis for the script.[3]

Soundtrack

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The soundtrack, released in 1996, features 6 tracks with lyrics written by the director himself.[4][5] The song "Otharoova" was well received and became a chartbuster.[3]

References