Sathyaraj was enjoying good success as a lead actor, when his friend Manivannan narrated the script of Amaidhipadai to him.
Sathyaraj initially rejected the script as he was not interested in playing a negative role. But, after being impressed by the narration, he accepted to play the role.
Amaidhi Padai, which revolves around an ordinary man who builds his political career through short routes, is touted as one of Sathyaraj's best performances till date.
Over the years, this film developed a strong cult following and is regarded as an ingenious visionary political satire film.
The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, while the lyrics were written by Vaali, Pulamaipithan and Ponnadiyan.
Amaidhi Padai emerged victorious among the Pongal releases of 1994, winning the race against other successful films like Despite releasing alongside Mahanadhi and Sethupathi IPS.
The film went on to run for more than 25 weeks and was declared a blockbuster.
Amaidhi Padai was remade in Telugu as Dharmaraju M.A, starring Mohan Babu and Sujatha.
The film was remade in Hindi as Jallaad, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Moushmi Chatterjee, Rambha, and Madhoo.
Manivannan made a sequel starring Sathyaraj and Seeman, titled Nagaraja Cholan MA, MLA in 2013
Nagaraja Cholan MA, MLA, which opened to mixed reviews, was Manivannan's 50th and last film as a director and actor, as he died a month after the film's release.
After this film, Sathyaraj played a villain opposite himself in the movie Villadhi Villain (1995).
Kasthuri was seen as Amavasai's love interest Thayamma in the movie.
All of the politically-charged sarcasm which the movie feeds us remains relevant today because it is based on the fundamental nature of the hypocrisy of mainstream politics.
