Amaidhi Padai Amavasai is returning to share his wits and political strategies once again in theatres after 32 years as Manivannan's iconic directorial gears up for a re-release. Sharing a new poster, the makers wrote, "Amavasai's political game starts," and announced the film's return to theatres ahead of Tamil Nadu assembly elections.
The re-release is planned on a grand scale with Sparrow Cinemas' Karthick Venkatesan undertaking the works for it, with talks to release it across 500 theatres in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, and Karnataka, besides Tamil Nadu.
Released in 1994, Sathyaraj stars in dual roles in Amaidhi Padai as Amavasai, lazy and corrupt politician and Thangavel, his illegitimate son who becomes a poice officer. As the son grows up, he vows to stop his father's illegal activities. The film, which achieved critical and commercial acclaim upon release, went on to become a cult-classic and continues to remain relevant to contemporary politics. With Tamil Nadu heading to elections soon, Amaidhi Padai is planned for a re-release in 4K technology with Dolby sound.
Apart from Sathyaraj, the film also stars Manivannan, Sujatha, Kasthuri, and Ranjitha in key roles. It had music composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The film's success led to its remakes being made in Telugu as M. Dharmaraju M.A. (1994), and in Hindi as Jallaad (1995). The character and the film have been an indelible part of pop culture discourse for the last three decades that the character has been discussed, parodied and recreated by public, films and other forms of media.
A spiritual successor, Nagaraja Cholan MA, MLA was released in 2013, with Sathyaraj returning. It was Manivannan's 50th and last film as a director and actor, as he died a month after the film's release. Sathyaraj once again wore the politician's attire Tughlaq Durbar (2021) and played Amavasai's son, MLA Pournami, in Love Marriage (2025).
A date for Amaidhi Padai's re-release is expected to be announced in the upcoming days.