Nayakan

"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".

This movie rotates around a single person, Kamal Hassan. Its simply an amazing movie and full credits to the director Mani Ratnam and Kamal for their brilliant, extraordinary, great, satisfying,superb work... No words to say. better u watch the movie

in Nayakan all the characters have done an excellent work. Music by Ilayaraja the maestro himself and his works definitely needs recognition all over the world. Even now the songs are worth hearing and very very great.The camera man has done an beautiful work and full credits to him for bringing out an excellent picture to our eyes..

The greatness of the movie is that it shows all the stages of men, and Kamal's acting shows his true potential and his exceeding talent, its a proud feeling for me to know that the hero is in tamil industry and speaking my language.

Watch this movie and enjoy the movie as much as i did . . . . . . . . . .

Kamal Hassan's extraordinary performance is the highlight of the film. This movie is perhaps the greatest gangster movie made in India, even though it is heavily inspired by the Al Pacino-starrer The Godfather. Kamal rightfully won the National Award for his performance. Great cast, great performances, solid direction from Mani Rathnam, great screenplay = one great movie. Highly recommended. A+.

The film draws heavily upon Mario Puzo's Godfather, however, the Indian adaptation of the well known story is simply superb. Manirathnam has done a wonderful job in re-creating the life and times of a local mafioso in the slums of Bombay. The art direction is flawless, and captures the time period perfectly. The music by Illayaraja is haunting, and reflects the nostalgic music of the early 70s. However, the high point of the movie is the excellent performance of Kamal Hassan. His potrayal of Velu-Nayakan is by far the best I have seen in Indian movies. The Hindi remake of this movie is sub-standard and poor. I highly recommend this movie to someone who has never seen it before.

One of the movies where the star cast have lived the roles not just performed , well supported by Editing, Cinematography and background score . A must see. KamalHasan has given really a masterly performance for which he got the national award rightly.