Karakattakkaran (transl. 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. It revolves around two karakattam dancers who fall in love with each other, but circumstances prevent them from confessing their love for one another. How they overcome these forms the rest of the story.

The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and all the songs were well-received, in particular, "Maanguyilae Poonguyile". The film was released on 16 June 1989 and was a major commercial success, running for over a year in theatres, and won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. It was also Goundamani and Senthil's 100th film as a combo. Goundamani and Senthil's banana comedy sequence from this film remains one of their most popular acts.

Muthaiya is the lead performer of a karakattam troupe based out of a village. Muthaiya's mother was his dance guru. Similarly Kamakshi is also a karakattam dancer in the nearby village and she performs regularly during temple festival of that village. Chinnarasu is the village panchayat board president and he sets an eye on Kamakshi. But Kamakshi hates Chinnarasu. To take revenge on her, Chinnarasu invites Muthaiya's dance troupe to perform during temple festival instead of Kamakshi's performance.

Muthaiya performs well and is widely appreciated by the villagers. Kamakshi also likes Muthaiya's performance. Kamakshi's father invites Muthaiya to his home. And to his shock, Kamakshi's father understands that Muthaiya is his nephew but does not reveal it to him. Muthaiya and Kamakshi fall in love with each other. Chinnarasu gets to know about Muthaiya and Kamakshi's love affair and plans to separate them.

Balaraman is Kamakshi's innocent brother-in-law who works for Chinnarasu. Chinnarasu persuades Balaraman to challenge a dance competition between Muthaiya and Kamakshi for which both accepts. In the meantime, Chinnarasu plans to kill Muthaiya during the dance program. His assassin, a butcher, throws a knife at Muthaiya, but Kamakshi saves him, thereby getting stabbed in her leg after the dance.

Muthaiya's mother gets furious upon realising that Kamakshi is her niece and takes Muthaiya along with her and also does not permit their wedding to happen. She reveals a flashback that Kamakshi's father is her own brother and he eloped with the jewels that were meant to be sold to meet the medical expenses of Muthaiya's father which led to his death. 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.

Now Muthaiya's mother realises her mistake and unites with her brother. Also she agrees for wedding between Muthaiya and Kamakshi. Chinnarasu accuses that Muthaiya and Kamakshi misbehaved in the temple and orders them to walk on fire in the temple to prove that they are pure. Muthaiya and Kamakshi successfully walk on fire while Balaraman exposes Chinnarasu's true identity before of the villagers. Balaraman pushes Chinnarasu on to the fire but Muthaiya saves him which makes Chinnarasu remorseful. Muthaiya and Kamakshi marry.

Gangai Amaran wanted to do a film on the life of Karakattam dancers and their art Karagam. When producers Karumari Kandaswamy and J. Durai approached Amaran to do a project for them they agreed to do the film titled Karakattakkaran. Amaran admitted that his film was reversal of Thillana Mohanambal (1968) with a change of backdrop and it was Ramarajan who suggested the story idea for the film while Amaran revealed he "didn't plan anything for the movie and went on scene by scene".