Thevar Magan

The urbane son of a village chieftain struggles between his personal aspirations and those of his family. Set against the backdrop of the feudal Madurai district, controlled by big landlords who employ their own gangs and often indulge in expensive feuds with their neighbours. The star explained that this environment was part of his childhood experience. He plays Shaktivelu, the modern son of Peria-thevar (Ganesan), who returns to his ancestral home to introduce his girlfriend (Gauthami) to his family. Unwittingly, he is forced to become involved in the bloody feuds between different members of the clan led by Mayathevar (Nasser), and when his father dies he assumes the godfather's mantle. The rival family is eventually annihilated in a gory ending. However, how will Shakti's love and personal life pan out? —Santhosh The London-educated Shakti (Kamal Haasan), son of an village chieftain Peria-thevar (Shivaji) returns home after a long stay abroad. Accompanying Shakti is his girlfriend (Gautami), with who he intends to settle in a city and start a business. However, his father hopes he will don the patriarchal mantle, a role Shakti finds alien and distasteful after several years abroad. Then, an accidental conflagration and its consequences turns a new set of responsibilities on Shakti... Good performance by Nasser as the evil cousin. The film was remade as Virasat in Hindi. —Joyojeet Pal