As part of an Instagram poll I put on for selecting the director of the week, The voters decided that Mani Ratnam was the director of the week. After viewing some films of Kalatapaswi Viswanath Garu, I was recommended by many to watch and review his films. So, I decided to review 10 of his most critically acclaimed this week including the Terrorism trilogy, Nayakudu(Nayakan), Mouna Raagam, Sakhi, Amrutha(Kannathil Muthamittal), Dalapathi(Thalapathi), Gitanjali and Iddaru(Iruvar). I have already reviewed Sakhi a.k.a Alaipayuthey on my blog recently. You can search for it in my blog. So, today I have watched Nayakudu or Nayakan. It has the best score on IMDb for any Mani Ratnam film. How did I feel about this film? Check out my take on Nayakudu:
Nayakudu is a 1987 drama movie starring Kamal Hassan, Saranya in leading roles directed by Mani Ratnam. The story is a loose adaptation of the life of Mumbai don Varadarajan Mudaliar. It caused some controversy as at that time, it was based on a living person.
The screenplay of the film is very immersive. It begins very well with the murder of the protagonist's father, a union leader which establishes the motive of the lead very well. Then, it transistions to Dharavi and the struggle South Indians face there. This was the film which realistically showed us the struggles of people in Dharavi. Many films based on this concept tried to emulate the same feel of this film. Best example is the Rajnikanth starrer Kaala-Karikaalan. It shows the brutal truth, but it fails because it can feel over-exaggerated to many like in some of the Tamil cinema. Back to Nayakudu itself, it shows the growth of the titular don in 5 stages of age. The 13 year old child whose father is killed and later stabs the police responsible for it. The young Veeraiah who beats the local inspector Kelkar with a hammer to death avenging his guardian Hussian Bhai's death. A 30 year old young don Veer Naidu who had to lose his loving wife Neela when some of his challenges piss off some other gangsters in Mumbai. The 40 year old big shot who loses his son and daughter to all the chaos around him. Then, at the end an 55 year old Veer Bhai who gives himself up realising that people are giving up themselves for a bad guy. This complete life-cycle effectively shows a rise and fall of a don. A sympathetic society and a real environment. But, I have a small gripe with the film that is the placement of songs. I feel that cramming in 5 songs in the first half of the film with 2 of them being item numbers in the middle of nowhere is not good. 3 songs although good were blocking the flow of the film and serves very little purpose. It is one of the best Mani Ratnam screenplays but small gripes keep it behind for me.
The acting performances of the film really lift the film to another film. Kamal Hassan Sir, you are wonderful. He breathes life into every role he performs. So, is the case here. He plays the titular leader of the south Indian society in Dharavi who grows in stature as the time goes by. This character is tough to play as it has multiple complex variations and physical and voice makeover every 20-30 minutes. My god he was looking so handsome in the beginning of the film. Kamal Hassan nails it perfectly as his natural acting and surprising makeover won me over. He is an absolute legend of an actor, No Doubt. In her debut role, Saranya Ponvannan really does a good job. Although she gets less screen time, she proves her worth with her innocent and charming expressions throughout her screen time. Moving on with the supporting actors, popular Tamil artist Janagaraj as the ever-trusted Cheliah gives a very good performance. Delhi Ganesh stars in a smaller role as the second-in charge of Veer Naidu. Nasar as the assistant commissioner gives a very good performance. Popular Bollywood actor-director Tinnu Anand gives a very unique performance as the mentally ill son of Inspector Kelkar, Ajit. He proves why he is such a good actor. Overall, this film has some super good performances.
The technical aspects of the film live up to the Mani Ratnam mark. Let me begin with the cinematography. It is very good as it brings alive the real world of Dharavi. The best shots of the feature are the in-between wall scenes. They looked really nice. Also, watch out for the small glimpses of slow-mo in a particular fire accident in the second half of the film. The framework really works for an action sequence but it took me some time for me to digest such a shot in this film. The editing of the film too is very smooth. The placement of 2 songs in particular could have changed. Otherwise, it is very good. The music by Maestro Ilayaraaja is almost near perfect. All the songs in the film fit in very well with the film. You should recognise the evergreen "Nee Goodu Chedirindi" from this film. After listening to all the trolls with the song, I really missed the intensity of the song which is provided by the film. The BGM too is superb using parts of the soundtrack and original music to good use. The prosthetics done on Kamal Hassan is really good. Such work cannot be repeated again as some of the newer films like Chichchore fail to show ageing well. Overall, the technical aspects of the film too are really good.
Overall, for anybody who have not watched a single Mani Ratnam film, this will be that film that will make you ready for his films which have bits of the flavour of this film. It is a real, immersive experience of the rise and fall of a leader who faces loss while fighting with the society. It is a must watch for cinema lovers in general. Enjoy this film on Youtube and Aha Video app.
The screenplay of the film is very immersive. It begins very well with the murder of the protagonist's father, a union leader which establishes the motive of the lead very well. Then, it transistions to Dharavi and the struggle South Indians face there. This was the film which realistically showed us the struggles of people in Dharavi. Many films based on this concept tried to emulate the same feel of this film. Best example is the Rajnikanth starrer Kaala-Karikaalan. It shows the brutal truth, but it fails because it can feel over-exaggerated to many like in some of the Tamil cinema. Back to Nayakudu itself, it shows the growth of the titular don in 5 stages of age. The 13 year old child whose father is killed and later stabs the police responsible for it. The young Veeraiah who beats the local inspector Kelkar with a hammer to death avenging his guardian Hussian Bhai's death. A 30 year old young don Veer Naidu who had to lose his loving wife Neela when some of his challenges piss off some other gangsters in Mumbai. The 40 year old big shot who loses his son and daughter to all the chaos around him. Then, at the end an 55 year old Veer Bhai who gives himself up realising that people are giving up themselves for a bad guy. This complete life-cycle effectively shows a rise and fall of a don. A sympathetic society and a real environment. But, I have a small gripe with the film that is the placement of songs. I feel that cramming in 5 songs in the first half of the film with 2 of them being item numbers in the middle of nowhere is not good. 3 songs although good were blocking the flow of the film and serves very little purpose. It is one of the best Mani Ratnam screenplays but small gripes keep it behind for me.
The acting performances of the film really lift the film to another film. Kamal Hassan Sir, you are wonderful. He breathes life into every role he performs. So, is the case here. He plays the titular leader of the south Indian society in Dharavi who grows in stature as the time goes by. This character is tough to play as it has multiple complex variations and physical and voice makeover every 20-30 minutes. My god he was looking so handsome in the beginning of the film. Kamal Hassan nails it perfectly as his natural acting and surprising makeover won me over. He is an absolute legend of an actor, No Doubt. In her debut role, Saranya Ponvannan really does a good job. Although she gets less screen time, she proves her worth with her innocent and charming expressions throughout her screen time. Moving on with the supporting actors, popular Tamil artist Janagaraj as the ever-trusted Cheliah gives a very good performance. Delhi Ganesh stars in a smaller role as the second-in charge of Veer Naidu. Nasar as the assistant commissioner gives a very good performance. Popular Bollywood actor-director Tinnu Anand gives a very unique performance as the mentally ill son of Inspector Kelkar, Ajit. He proves why he is such a good actor. Overall, this film has some super good performances.
The technical aspects of the film live up to the Mani Ratnam mark. Let me begin with the cinematography. It is very good as it brings alive the real world of Dharavi. The best shots of the feature are the in-between wall scenes. They looked really nice. Also, watch out for the small glimpses of slow-mo in a particular fire accident in the second half of the film. The framework really works for an action sequence but it took me some time for me to digest such a shot in this film. The editing of the film too is very smooth. The placement of 2 songs in particular could have changed. Otherwise, it is very good. The music by Maestro Ilayaraaja is almost near perfect. All the songs in the film fit in very well with the film. You should recognise the evergreen "Nee Goodu Chedirindi" from this film. After listening to all the trolls with the song, I really missed the intensity of the song which is provided by the film. The BGM too is superb using parts of the soundtrack and original music to good use. The prosthetics done on Kamal Hassan is really good. Such work cannot be repeated again as some of the newer films like Chichchore fail to show ageing well. Overall, the technical aspects of the film too are really good.
Overall, for anybody who have not watched a single Mani Ratnam film, this will be that film that will make you ready for his films which have bits of the flavour of this film. It is a real, immersive experience of the rise and fall of a leader who faces loss while fighting with the society. It is a must watch for cinema lovers in general. Enjoy this film on Youtube and Aha Video app.
IMDb Rating : 8.7/10
My Rating : 8.5/10
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