Nattamai is considered to be one of the most popular Tamil films of the 1990s and in general. It became a trendsetter for many films in the later years.
Director K. S. Ravikumar initially approached Mammootty to play the lead role. For reasons unknown, he declined the offer. Sarath Kumar was then signed for as the lead.The film became the fourth collaboration between Ravikumar and Sarathkumar.When K. S. Ravikumar approached Kushboo for Nattamai's wife role, initially she hesitated as in most part of the film she had to look old, except in a brief flashback.Khusboo, after some thought, apparently asked KSR whom he will cast if she denies, Ravikumar said he will approach veteran actress Lakshmi. This made Kusbhoo take up the role.Meena was KSR's first choice for the role of the younger Sarath's wife. The two would share screen space again in Nadodi Mannan the following year.Mahendran, who starred in many films as Master Mahendran, made as debut as child artist in Nattamai. The actor made his debut as lead in Vizha (2013).Bharathiraja was Ravikumar's initial choice for the character of Vijayakumar. The filmmaker categorically denied the offer.Vijayakumar was initially supposed to play the role of the elder brother, the Nattamai, Shanmugam, and Lakshmi was supposed t play his pair.Just a few days before shooting began, Ravikumar decided to have Sarathkumar play both the brothers. There after, a dual role for Sarathkumar was considered a lucky charm,Sarath subsequently did many films - Suryavamsam (1997), Natpukkaga (1998), Maayi (2000), Diwan (2003) and Ayyaa (2005) which featured him in double roles in the backdrop of village.The Goundamani-Senthil 'Thagappaa' comedy went on to become legendary. That line, interestingly, wasn't in the script, It was an impromptu improvisation by Goundar.The iconic mixture comedy was also an on-set improvisation by KS Ravikumar. The man, who keeps eating the mixture oblivious to the surroundings, is a light man, who worked in the sets.KS Ravikumar apparently included a few more scenes involving Goundamani and Senthil after seeing the final cut. He thought the film was too serious to be a Diwali release.The film, which was made at a budget of 2 crores, made 11 crores (60 crores in 2019) at the BO and became a blockbuster among 1994 Deepavali releases and completed a 175-day run at the box office.Sarathkumar earned both the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor and Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Tamil for his performance in the film.Sarath's proximity to Jayalalithaa at that time landed him in deep trouble and created a furore when the film, which was still running in TN theatres, was aired on JJ TV,The airing was reportedly done using a U-matic tape, which Sarathkumar had given the then CM J Jayalalithaa for personal viewing at her residence,The producer RB Choudary threatened action against Sarath for misusing a personal tape. An embarrassed Sarath sought an explanation from both Jayalalitha and JJ TV, without success.The soundtrack was composed by Sirpy and the song 'Kotta Paakkum' became a huge chartbuster, ruling the FM stations for over an year.Nattamai was remade in Telugu as Pedarayudu starring MohanBabu, and in Hindi as Bulandi starring Anil Kapoor, both of which had Superstar Rajinikanth reprising Vijayakumar'si role in an extended cameoThe iconic dialogue 'Nattamai, theerpa maathi sollu' (Chieftain, change your judgement) became a part of the pop-culture of the 90s.The iconic dialogue 'Nattamai, theerpa maathi sollu' (Chieftain, change your judgement) became a part of the pop-culture of the 90s.Vivekh has parodied the Nattamai concept in many films. He did a similar spoof in Sandai (2008) and Thoondil (2008).Scenes from Nattamai were also parodied in Shiva's Thamizh Padam (2010), Ponnambalam, who did the negative role in the original film, had appeared as village chieftain in the parody.