Nayagan | 100 Years Of Indian Cinema | Under Lens

Perhaps the biggest influence of South Indian films on Bollywood, Nayagan raised the bar of crime dramas to a new high. Rated as one of the finest gangster movies ever made on this planet, Nayagan is loosely based on real life don Varadarajan Mudaliar who was an object of admiration at his peak.

 

Nayagan is made by Mani Ratnam with Kamal Haasan in the lead role of Velu Naiker. Velu journey begins with his father’s brutal encounter. He moves to Bombay where he is rescued by a kind hearted Muslim fisherman. His first step in the world of crime was murder of a policeman who kills his guardian. The same moment he shows the brighter side of his persona by adopting policeman’s differently abled child. Nayagan shows different phases of his life where he marries and falls in love with a prostitute, conflicts with children and his tragic fall.

 

Nayagan is iconic movie on many accounts. It beautifully establishes a strong character whose success has a reason and fall has an irony. It was perhaps the first time audience appreciated the grey shade of the lead actor in a character which never seemed to be fabricated. Audience knew Velu did wrong things but was he still loved by everyone in the film for his self-righteousness. This element was later explored by many other filmmakers in different films like Agneepath and Vaastav. Shot in the slums, the characters were never glossy. This made movie more convincing and appealing.

 

Trivia: The story initially was developed with Shivaji Ganeshan in mind but when Mani Ratnam took charge, characters were remoulded. After initial shoot, unhappy with the output, Mani reshot most of the parts. The budget, hence, shot almost twice of expected.