General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20263 min read

Natpukkaga (நட்புக்காக)

Natpukkaga (நட்புக்காக; transl. For Friendship) is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. S. Ravikumar, starring R. Sarathkumar in dual roles as a father and son, alongside Simran, Vijayakumar, and Sujatha.¹ It was released on 25 June 1998, ran for 162 minutes, and became a blockbuster. The film won the Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film, with Sarathkumar taking the Best Actor prize at both ceremonies.¹

Key fact	Detail
Release	25 June 1998, Tamil language, 162 minutes¹
Director and producer	K. S. Ravikumar (director and screenplay); produced by A. M. Rathnam for Sri Surya Movies¹^•²
Lead roles	R. Sarathkumar as father Muthaiya and son Chinnaiya; Simran as Prabhavathi; Vijayakumar as Karunakaran (Ayya)³
Music	Composed by Deva, lyrics by Kalidasan; Sarathkumar and Vijayakumar performed "Namma Ayya Nallavarungggo"⁴^•⁵
Awards	Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil and Best Actor – Tamil (Sarathkumar); Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Best Film and Best Actor¹
Remakes	Telugu as Sneham Kosam (1999) and Kannada as Diggajaru (2000), both by Ravikumar¹
Streaming	Available on Aha and other Indian streaming platforms⁶

Spoilers

Plot

The story centers on the bond between a landlord and his servant. Chinnayya (Sarathkumar) works for an old, respected landlord called Ayya (Vijayakumar), who treats him like his own son. Ayya has cut off his oldest daughter, Gowri (Sithara), and her husband, Perusu (Mansoor Ali Khan), for reasons no one knows. His younger daughter, Prabhavathy (Simran), returns to the village after studying in America and falls in love with Chinnayya, who at first resists because he fears betraying Ayya's trust.⁶

The turning point comes when Prabhavathy suddenly accuses Chinnayya of attempting to molest her. Ayya slaps him and throws him out of the house. At the same time, Chinnayya's father, Muthaiya (also Sarathkumar), is released from jail after 14 years and comes to see Ayya, for whom he once worked as a trusted servant. Prabhavathy demands that Muthaiya leave because he was jailed for killing Ayya's wife, Lakshmi (Sujatha). She later reveals that she had falsely accused Chinnayya because she hated his father, and the film's later acts resolve the secrets behind the family split.⁶^•⁷

Production and crew

K. S. Ravikumar wrote the screenplay from a story by Jyothi Krishna. Ashok Rajan handled cinematography and K. Thanikachalam edited the film.¹^•⁸ The supporting cast included Sujatha, Sithara, Manorama, Senthil, Ranjith, Mansoor Ali Khan, Sundarrajan, and Manobala; Ravikumar himself appears in a guest role as Nondi Samiyar.³ The film was certified U in India.⁹

Music

Deva composed the soundtrack, with lyrics by the poet Kalidasan.⁴ The track list includes "Adikkira Kai", "Ayya Sari", "Garuda Garuda", "Chinna Chinna Munthiri", and "Meesakkaara Nanba".⁴ In "Namma Ayya Nallavarungggo", the film's lead actors Sarathkumar and Vijayakumar performed as singers themselves, alongside playback contributions credited on the album.⁵

Reception and legacy

The film became a blockbuster upon release.¹ Its awards sweep covered both major Tamil ceremonies of its year: at the Filmfare Awards South it took Best Film – Tamil and Best Actor – Tamil for Sarathkumar, and the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards conferred the same two honors.¹ A contemporary press account describes it as an emotion-mixed village drama about the connection between two friends, played by Vijayakumar and Sarathkumar, and notes that the Telugu remake Sneham Kosam starred Chiranjeevi in the lead.¹⁰

The film has remained in circulation on Indian streaming services, including Aha, where it is listed with a U/A 13+ rating.⁶ Audience ratings on aggregator sites have stayed favorable: MovieCrow users gave it 3.7 out of 5 from several hundred votes, and Cinegraph records an IMDb score of 7.7.⁵^•⁷

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Tamil films before 2000 › Released 1992 to 1999

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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