Before Sathyaraj became immortalized as Kattappa in Baahubali, he was a major star in Tamil cinema known for his own patented style of acting which was mostly filled with satire and sarcasm. He started his career as a bit player and villain's henchman and rose to the main villain spot for a couple of years against the likes of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan before transitioning to the hero role where he finally gained the stardom he craved. It was his collegemate and best friend, director/comedian Manivannan who knew Sathyaraj's true potential and maximized it in the films they did together. And Amaidhi Padai is the peak of their combo.
The main story is old as the hills as Sathyaraj plays a double role of father and son where the righteous police officer son seeks revenge on his father, a corrupt and unscrupulous minister in Tamil Nadu who abandoned him and his mother. But it is the masterly handling by Manivannan which makes it extraordinary. He does not spare anyone in this political satire hidden in a masala film by making pointed jabs at politicians of the past and today. Anybody can become a politician nowadays and those who do never serve the public; they are only there is to gain and remain in power for themselves. To quote the great Pete Townshend of the Who, "We don't get fooled again," but unfortunately the status quo remains the same no matter what.
Here Manivannan focuses on one such person, a poor, yet egotistical man named Ammavasai (Sathyaraj) who dreams of owning a palace of his own. He will not hesitate to kill anyone or anything that gets in his way. He gets recruited by a corrupt politician named Manimaran (Manivannan himself) and rises up the ranks to become the latter's right-hand man. Ammavasai might be poor, but he is shrewd and calculating. He might show humility on the outside, but he is corrupt on the inside. He imitates politicians and later makes speeches to attract people (mainly for his boss). He lusts after a pretty young woman named Thayamma (Kasthuri), gets her to fall for his charms and later drugs and rapes her. Soon, he is asked by Mani to stand for elections as the latter is denied a ticket. What follows is a marvelous scene where Ammavasai declares his name to be "Nagaraja Cholan MA. Son of Rajendra Cholan. Grandson of Raja Raja Cholan, Thanjavur" and Mani's reaction to this is priceless.
Through Mani's crafty machinations, Ammavasai aka Nagaraja Cholan wins the election and becomes an MLA. During that stretch, when Ammavasai hears his name, he becomes blinded to the people's reaction and starts reveling in his victory. As the votes are counted in his victory, he sits down by parking his butt at the front part of his chair. With the help of Ilaiyaraaja's background music, he starts becoming more comfortable by slowly sliding down the chair until he is firmly on the back of the chair, smoking his cigarette with arrogance and pride.
And it's all just the beginning of his consolidation of power for the next 20+ years as he rebuffs Mani and makes him his crony and later marries Sivagami (Sujatha) to grab the palace from her father, a zamindar. And he doesn't stop there. He disowns a pregnant Thayamma and goes on his merry way. He does not hesitate to kill all his opposition, to destroy people due to their caste and to cause chaos through his henchmen in order to remain in power. His ultimate goal is to become a powerful minister maybe chief or even prime minister where he can never be touched.
And who does he remind you of? Well, nearly every politician/dictator in real life! We see it every day! And those who know their true role as public servants are always trampled by these power-hungry individuals and nothing is ever done for the public. Real life in reel life!
Looking back on the movie, the technical production design and costumes and soundtrack may take you back to the 90s and may not have aged very well, but Manivannan's excellent story, screenplay and direction keep you engrossed thoroughly. Though he is not effective at all as the law-abiding son due to the bland nature of the role, it is the abnormal, arrogant villainous father role where Sathyaraj gives his best performance. It is pretty much a one man show. Here is a miscreant who is detestable due to his evil deeds and yet he is so delicious in terms of character and depth that you can't look away. It's refreshing to see an unrighteousness man who is frank and forthwith about who he is and what he aims to be that you just want to see what he's up to next. The Sathyaraj swagger and style is at its peak as every word he utters out of his mouth is sharp, stinging and side-splitting.
Manivannan is in fantastic form as the corrupt Mani and his superb cutting political lines still remain relevant. Ranjitha and Kasthuri are decent in underdeveloped roles whereas Sujatha is great as always as the suffering, yet strong willed Sivagami. SS Chandran and Ganthimathi stand out as Thayamma's parents. Malaysia Vasudevan makes a cameo as Ranjitha's father and Baby Aarthi is cute as Ranjitha's younger sister.
Though Ilaiyaraaja's music isn't up to his high standards though Enakku Unnai Ninaicha is catchy, it is his background score that makes the film even more memorable.
I highly recommend Amaidhi Padai as an exceptional political satire which is still applicable today. It is entertaining and truthful and hopefully we can all learn not to fully trust our politicians all around the world. Most importantly, it's Sathyaraj's finest hour and you'll truly understand why he's a legend in Indian cinema, especially Tamil Cinema!
8.5/10.
PS. Please do not watch the Telugu and Hindi remakes! They do not come an iota close!
