Nammavar

Nammavar (transl. One of ours) is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and produced by B. Venkatarama Reddy. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Gautami, while Nagesh, Senthil, Kovai Sarala, Srividya 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.

Nammavar
Theatrical release poster
Directed byK. S. Sethumadhavan
Screenplay byKamal Haasan
Story byKamal Haasan
Dialogue byKanmani Subbu
Produced byB. Venkatarama Reddy
Starring
CinematographyMadhu Ambat
Edited byN. P. Satish
Music byMahesh Mahadevan
Production
company
Release date
  • 2 November 1994 (1994-11-02)
Running time
178 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Budget₹3.7 crore[2]
Box office₹9.75 crore[2]

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, 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 (1982) and The Principal (1987).

Nammavar was released on 2 November 1994, Diwali day. It won three National Film Awards: Best Feature Film in Tamil, Best Supporting Actor (Nagesh), and Special Mention (Mahesh); and two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards: Second Best Film and Special Prize (Nagesh).

Plot

Dr V. C. Selvam, a history professor from Madurai, is appointed as the vice principal of Sakthivel Arts College in Chennai, which is riddled with students' unrest and conflicts. Ramesh, son of a major donor to the college, is a spoiled brat 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 multiple modern changes. Students join 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 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; 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 from past, 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 marry and leave to the United States seeking a possible cure for the cancer, hopeful that the college will be truly reformed when they return.

Cast

The uncredited cast includes ;

Production

Development

Nammavar was directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and produced by B. Venkatarama Reddy under Chandamama Vijaya Combines. While the story and screenplay were written by Kamal Haasan (who also played the lead role of Selvam), the dialogues were written by Kanmani Subbu.[7] The film's title was chosen by Ananthu.[8] Cinematography was handled by Madhu Ambat, editing by N. P. Satish, and art direction by B. Chalam.[1] The film was inspired by various English-language films about universities and professors including To Sir, with Love (1967),[9] Class of 1984 (1982),[10] and The Principal (1987).[11] It was the final Tamil film directed by Sethumadhavan.[12]

Casting

Gautami was Sethumadhavan and Haasan's first choice for playing Vasanthi, and got the role.[13] Though Nagesh, 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.[14] Brinda was chosen to portray Rao's daughter Nirmala, and Nammavar was the only film she ever acted in.[15] According to Sethumadhavan, casting Brinda was Haasan's idea.[16] Abhishek Shankar, 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,[17] upon Haasan's recommendation.[18] Vijay Sethupathi, 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.[19][20]

Filming

Principal photography began on 20 May 1994.[21] The first day shoot was at held at Vijaya Vauhini Studios, with Karan and Haasan in a classroom scenario.[22] 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.[23] For a scene, the crew initially planned to shoot in Ooty; however they finally shot that scene by building a set resembling Ooty in Taramani and Vijaya Studios.[24]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Mahesh Mahadevan, while the lyrics were written by Pulamaipithan and Vairamuthu. It was released under the label Music Master.[25][26] Nammavar is the feature film debut for Mahesh, who previously composed advertising jingles.[27] The song "Sorgam Enbathu Namakku" marked the debut of playback singer Srinivas.[28]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Sorgam Enbathu Namakku"VairamuthuSrinivas, Swarnalatha4:28
2."Ethilum Valvlan Da"PulamaipithanKamal Haasan, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Swarnalatha8:21
3."Mannil Engum"VairamuthuMano, Neol James4:51
4."Poonnkuyil Paadinal"VairamuthuS. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra5:04
5."Udai Oodu Pirakkavillai"PulamaipithanS. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Sujatha4:38
Total length:27:22

Release

Nammavar was released on 2 November 1994, Diwali day despite initial plans to release in January, during Pongal.[29][30] Made on a budget of ₹3.7 crore, the film grossed ₹9.75 crore.[2] It was later dubbed in Telugu as Professor Viswam.[31]

Reception

Malini Mannath of The Indian Express 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."[9] On 14 November, K. Vijiyan of New Straits Times wrote, "With its realistic dialogue and quiet humour, Nammavar looks like a winner for Kamalhassan."[6] Thulasi of Kalki appreciated the film for various aspects, including Sethumadhavan's direction, the cast performances and the music.[32] On 27 November, Ananda Vikatan wrote, "Overall, with superb dialogues, beautiful camera work, impressive background score and Kamal's interesting acting enable the film to score".[33]

Accolades
Award Ceremony Category Nominee(s) Outcome Ref.
National Film Awards 42nd National Film Awards National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil B. Venkatarama Reddy (Producer) Won [1]
Best Supporting Actor Nagesh Won
Special Mention Mahesh Mahadevan (music director) Won
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards 1994 Best Film (Second prize) B. Venkatarama Reddy Won [33]
Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize Nagesh Won

Legacy

Following the film's release, "Nammavar" became a popular nickname for Haasan among his fans.[34] Karan's performance was considered his tour-de-force by critics,[35] and he regards the film as a breakthrough in his career.[18] Film historian S. Theodore Baskaran felt that Oru Thalai Ragam (1980) and Nammavar were the "two most representative Tamil films about students".[36] In the 2021 film Master, JD (Vijay) is referred to as the student of Professor Selvam, who he considers as his inspiration and becomes alcoholic after his death.[37]

References
  1. "42nd National Film Festival". International Film Festival of India. 1995. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  2. 26 years of Nammavar 2019, p. 22.
  3. "Karthick Naren wants Lokesh Kanagaraj to write more characters like JD". The Times of India. 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  4. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 522.
  5. "Nammavar Cast and Crew". Moviefone. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  6. Vijiyan, K. (14 November 1994). "Another winner for Kamalhassan". New Straits Times. p. 30. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  7. Dhananjayan 2014, p. 334.
  8. Shoba, V (2 August 2018). "Kamal Haasan: A Star in Search of a Bigger Sky". Open. Archived from the original on 22 November 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  9. Mannath, Malini (11 November 1994). "To Sir, with violence". The Indian Express. p. 6. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  10. Kumar 1995, p. 79.
  11. "சுட்ட படம்". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 4 April 2016. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  12. "Kamal Haasan: My Sethu sir is someone who taught me good cinema". Cinema Express. 24 December 2021. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  13. 26 years of Nammavar 2019, p. 6.
  14. 26 years of Nammavar 2019, pp. 12–13.
  15. 26 years of Nammavar 2019, p. 10.
  16. 26 years of Nammavar 2019, p. 11.
  17. "கமல் படத்தில் நடிக்க முடியாமல் போனதற்கு வருந்திய சின்னத்திரை நடிகர்!". Samayam (in Tamil). 2 July 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  18. Rangarajan, Malathi (1 February 2008). "My First Break". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  19. Parameswaran, Prathibha (8 September 2016). "Vijay Sethupathi: The average Joe who made it big in Tamil films". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  20. S, Srivatsan (16 May 2022). "'Vikram' audio launch: Suriya plays a cameo, Kamal Haasan and Pa Ranjith to collaborate". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  21. 26 years of Nammavar 2019, p. 16.
  22. Ashok Kumar, S.R. (3 August 2007). "Emotions interest him". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  23. 26 years of Nammavar 2019, p. 14.
  24. "சினி சிப்ஸ்". Kalki (in Tamil). 6 November 1994. p. 49. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  25. "Nammavar". JioSaavn. 19 December 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  26. "Nammavar Tamil Audio Cassettes By Magesh". Banumass. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  27. Padmanabhan, Mukund (11 September 1994). "On a Song". Express Magazine. p. 10. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  28. Saravanan, T. (10 September 2005). "Singing, swinging and swaying". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  29. "25 years of Sarathkumar's 'Nattamai'". The Times of India. 2 November 2019. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  30. "திரை உலகை காட்டும் வான வேடிக்கை!" (PDF). Kalki (in Tamil). 30 October 1994. pp. 92–95. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  31. Gudelli, Jalapathy (13 January 2021). "Master Review: A plodding mass movie!". Telugucinema.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  32. துளசி (20 November 1994). "நம்மவர்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 5. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  33. Dhananjayan 2014, p. 335.
  34. Suganth, M (22 February 2018). "Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan now becomes Nammavar". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  35. Sundaram, Nandhu (19 July 2018). "Karuthamma, Nammavar, Kadhalan, Nattamai — Tamil cinema offered its best in the watershed year of 1994". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  36. Joshi, Namrata (27 February 2016). "Where is the student in Indian cinema?". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  37. "Master Review: Vijay And Vijay Sethupathi Make A Winning Combination". NDTV. 14 January 2021. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.

Bibliography
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