The Karakattam dancer) is a 1989 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy dance film written and directed by Gangai Amaran.

The film stars Ramarajan and debutant Kanaka, while Santhana Bharathi, Chandrasekhar, Goundamani, Senthil, Shanmugasundaram, Raja Bahadur, Gandhimathi and Kovai Sarala play supporting roles.

His assassin, a butcher, throws a knife at Muthaiya, but Kamakshi saves him, thereby getting stabbed in her leg after the dance.

But Kamakshi's father arrives there and reveals the truth that while he went to sell the jewels, he was caught by the police suspecting him to be a smuggler following which he was jailed for a few years.

Muthaiya and Kamakshi successfully walk on fire while Balaraman exposes Chinnarasu's true identity before of the villagers.

When producers Karumari Kandaswamy and J. Durai approached Amaran to do a project for them they agreed to do the film titled Karakattakkaran.

[15][16] The song "Nandhavanathil Oru" was adapted by Ilaiyaraaja's son Yuvan Shankar Raja as "Muttathu Pakkathile" in Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puravum (2009).

[18] S. Shankar, the producer of that film, did not acquire permission to remix the song, leading to Ilaiyaraaja taking legal action against him.

[7] Ananda Vikatan rated the film 44 out of 100, calling it a simple, realistic village love story without much grandeur.

[25] In an interview with The Hindu in 2002, Somasundaram, a real-life Karakattam dancer was critical of the film, stating that it was an "insult to the dance form".

[26] In a 2012 interview, Venkat Prabhu was asked if he would ever remake Karakattakkaran, and said "it would be extremely difficult to do justice to the original".

[31] The comedy sequence involving Goundamani and Senthil's banana joke, still remains a cult classic,[32] being referred to in the films Puthu Paatu (1990),[33] Ponnuketha Purushan (1992),[34] Muthal Seethanam (1992),[35] Pudhayal (1997),[36] Seerivarum Kaalai (2001),[37] and a deleted scene from Thuppakki (2012).

[39] The 2016 film Jil Jung Juk reveals who had kept Soppanasundari, the previous owner of the pink 1960 Chevrolet Impala according to the Karakattakkaran plot.