10 November 1996, and performed well at the box office. The Hindu praised the film, claiming it "turns out to be entertainer, mouthful from start to finish". The reviewer praised Haasan's portrayal of a woman by claiming that "few peers to Kamal Hassan who can do the female role with such perfection". Ananda Vikatan gave the film a score of 44 out of 100. The film won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards: Best Make-up Artist (K. M. Sarathkumar) and Best Child Artist (Ann). Legacy Avvai Shanmughi became a "textbook example" in Tamil cinema for slapstick humour. A year later, the film was remade in Hindi as Chachi 420, with Haasan directing and reprising his role. The scene where Pandiyan looks for a sign board to think of a name for his elderly woman getup is recreated in Remo (2016) where Sivakarthikeyan's character looks at a sign board for his nurse getup. References Bibliography External links 1990s Tamil-language films 1996 comedy films 1996 films Cross-dressing in Indian films Films directed by K. S. Ravikumar Films scored by Deva (composer) Films shot in South Africa Films with screenplays by Crazy Mohan Indian comedy films Indian remakes of American films Tamil films remade in other languages