From my favorite movies..

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

This film is supposed to be based on the life of mobster Varadarajan Mudaliar. However, when I read up on this criminal's career, it was quite different from the guy in this film--very. While both were apparently beloved by the community, Mudaliar's real life death was incredibly boring and was nothing like the film. Additionally, while Mudaliar might have been a good guy in some ways, in real life he was responsible for the sale of narcotics--something not exactly heroic. There are probably man other differences. Suffice to say, the film is fiction."Nayakan" begins with a little boy being beaten by some cops. They want to know where the boy's father is but the kid won't talk. So, they let him go and follow at a distance. Then, when they found the father, they murdered him. his offense--being a union organizer. Later, at the funeral, the young boy, Ratnavelu, grabs a knife and stabs one of the policemen there. He then runs off to Mumbai (far from his Tamil roots in Southern India) and lives life on the streets--with no family and no home.Years pass. Now Ratnavelu is an adult and has learned the life on the streets well. Now he's a mobster--a mob boss who is adored by the poor. Considering his childhood, this shouldn't come as a big surprise. However, like Robin Hood, Ratnavelu ALSO tries to bring justice to the poor and is a very just man--in his own way. There's MUCH more to this movie than this--just see the film for yourself to see.Some of what is bad about this film is not the fault of the filmmakers and will only cause issues if you watch the Pyramid DVD. This is because too much of the dialog is NOT captioned! Why?! It could be worse--but at least they captioned the songs--something other video companies often don't do! Another problem I don't blame the filmmakers for is the tinny sounding music (yes, singing in a gangster film). In ALL the 70s and 80s Indian films I've seen, the sound of the music was pretty terrible. Fortunately, newer Indian films are VERY professional--among the best made and produced films in the world. What the filmmakers could have done better was the direction and editing. In one sloppy scene, the rooftop changes mid-scene--and as the sun went down, the two scenes were probably separated by 15 minutes or so--making the sun seem VERY weird in India! Apart from these cosmetic problems, the film was excellent. If you are making a film to glorify mobsters and make the police evil, you couldn't have done a better job. An interesting script and nice acting sure helped. Well worth seeing.

I would rate this movie as a glowing example of the essence being inspired but the setup, execution and the ultimate product being original. people argue that the look of older Kamal's make-up being similar to that of Marlon Brando, the way Kamal cries when his son is killed is similar to the performance of Marlon Brando etc.. But no one can argue the fact that the scene build up and the way the story was setup was not lifted from the God Father, there are so many movies that are copied scene by scene (as a matter of fact the Hindi film Dayavan was a scene to scene copy of Nayakan but failed miserably!) but here the genius called Mani Ratnam has adopted the basic storyline and Indianized and made a masterpiece around a character (co-incidentally resembled much to the local Dharavi don Varadha Bhai) which was immortalized by Padmashree Dr. Kamal Haasan. A must watch for anyone who has an eye for meaningful entertainers with the best technicians in the industry at rollicking form firing all cylinders from Mani Ratnam, Kamal Haasan to Thotta Tharani, Ilaiyaraja, P.C Sreeram etc.

"Nayagan" is akin to a rare astronomical event wherein the constellations form a perfect alignment to create a spectacular extravaganza. Mani Ratnam, Kamal Hassan & Ilayaraja weaved magic that captured the heart of audience by storm. There cannot be a second opinion if I were to state that this role was destined for one and only Kamal Hassan. You cannot fail to notice the subtle changes in the body language, mannerism, gait and dialogue delivery that go about with the ageing process of the Sakthivelu. Starting with the rebel youth and all the way to the ageing Godfather, the natural transformation was effortlessly essayed by Kamal. Saranya, Ravi, Kartika, Nasser and Tinnu Anand leave a mark otherwise there isn't much scope for supporting star-cast. Ilayaraja compositions were a raging hit back then. P C Sriram (cinematography) & Thota Tharani (art direction) ensured to give a distinct Mani Ratnam feel to the visuals (a spillover of "Agni Natchathiram"). Though the plot rests on the basic premise of Mario Puzo's "The Godfather", top notch writing narrating the biography of Mumbai based Tamil gangster of the 80s, Varadarajan Mudaliar stands to its own.If "Mouna Ragam" and "Agni Natchathiram" got him noticed then "Nayagan" stamped the title of maverick to Mani Ratnam. It goes without saying that while "Nayagan" set a precedent for fellow film-makers, Mani Ratnam started the revolution in the Tamil cinema. PS: The Hindi remake, "Dayavan" attempted by Feroz Khan and Vinod Khanna was sadly a classic case of "lost in translation".

what it is about- it traces the journey of life of an underworld don,how he gets pulled into it,his rise to becoming the don.starting his life from slums and poverty to becoming a Saviour,guardian and leader for justice for the poor and till his fall is what the film is all about.what's hot- this film marks the outcome of 3 genius coming together.ace director Manirathnam,Thespian Kamalhassan,Music maestro Illayaraja.Mani being also credited for the excellent screenplay and story.one of the best background ever to be heard in the Indian film history.it compliments the situations and emotions expressed in the film to the hilt.Kamalhassan has proved why he is the best actor in India by his stellar performance.if Manirathnam is the brains behind this masterpiece then it is Kamalhassan who justifies it by his through performance and Illayaraja by his heart wrenching music.emotions expressed in the film straightly strikes a cord in your heart.Kamal's portrayal of the character Shaktivelu from his young hey days to his becoming the veteran don is something which is like an open acting institution.from his speech to his body language he literally lives the part.the music and the background score especially makes the situation and plight more pitiable specially in the part where the don comes to know about his son's death.the song ThenpandiCeemayela rings in your mind and makes you have tears and sympathy for the hero who loses his son and is unaware of the fact till the message is convened to him by others.the climax of the film which is heart wrenching is superbly shot and has equally well background score which makes it more memorable.kudos to Mani,Kamal and Illayaraja for making such a masterpiece which we all will be proud of.what's not- the songs in the film apart from ThenpandiCeemaleya reduces the pace of the film a bit.coming from an acclaimed director like Manirathnam scenes openly lifted from godfather is not expected from him.what to do- go for it,it is an once in a lifetime that such a movie is made in India.not only it is a total entertainer and it leaves a print in your mind even after ending which will remain forever.no film expresses emotions as good as it does.