Nayakan (1987) :
Brief Review -
Mani Ratnam improvises multiple masala movie cliches in this Classic Semi-biographical Crime Drama with the help of Kamal Haasan's Iconic 'Velu Naikar'. Nayakan was an early classic in crime drama genre, a genre which was not explored fully till then in India. Hollywood had been making same films since 30s and most of them were Crime Noirs which still look superior even after long time. 'The Godfather' recieved universal acclaim for some valid reasons, one of the major factor was its timing. Hollywood was losing its shine after the golden period of 1930-1960s, then Musicals took over in the next decade and then 70s needed a change. The Godfather provided that, otherwise there are many better Classics made it in Old Hollywood but only some chunk of movie buffs Know it. What The Godfather did for Hollywood, Nayakan does for Tamil Cinema or to some extent, to Indian Cinema. It wasn't like every scene or frame in Nayakan is absolutely class or something like that, it has many references from 70s Masala Films of Bollywood and South industries. It is always said that Nayakan was based on the life of Gangster Varadarajan Mudaliar but even his life events differs so much from the film hence, that Semi-biographical tag. Actually, Nayakan is a film which has created those cliches we have been seeing in all gangster/crime dramas in last 30 years. Kamal Haasan as Velu Naikar will always remain iconic. His charisma in that role will never get old. Mani Ratnam's improvisation tactics of typical masala elements looks interesting and the reason is, an early attempt to discover something powerful in this 'not so good' genre. Nayakan is a complete package of a cinematic experience which does not disappoint you in any aspect, rather it gives you those first-time showcases of multiple cliches. Overall, a Classic Crime Drama and highly effective for its time.
RATING - 8/10*
By - #samthebestest.
Mani Ratnam improvises multiple masala movie cliches in this Classic Semi-biographical Crime Drama with the help of Kamal Haasan's Iconic 'Velu Naikar'. Nayakan was an early classic in crime drama genre, a genre which was not explored fully till then in India. Hollywood had been making same films since 30s and most of them were Crime Noirs which still look superior even after long time. 'The Godfather' recieved universal acclaim for some valid reasons, one of the major factor was its timing. Hollywood was losing its shine after the golden period of 1930-1960s, then Musicals took over in the next decade and then 70s needed a change. The Godfather provided that, otherwise there are many better Classics made it in Old Hollywood but only some chunk of movie buffs Know it. What The Godfather did for Hollywood, Nayakan does for Tamil Cinema or to some extent, to Indian Cinema. It wasn't like every scene or frame in Nayakan is absolutely class or something like that, it has many references from 70s Masala Films of Bollywood and South industries. It is always said that Nayakan was based on the life of Gangster Varadarajan Mudaliar but even his life events differs so much from the film hence, that Semi-biographical tag. Actually, Nayakan is a film which has created those cliches we have been seeing in all gangster/crime dramas in last 30 years. Kamal Haasan as Velu Naikar will always remain iconic. His charisma in that role will never get old. Mani Ratnam's improvisation tactics of typical masala elements looks interesting and the reason is, an early attempt to discover something powerful in this 'not so good' genre. Nayakan is a complete package of a cinematic experience which does not disappoint you in any aspect, rather it gives you those first-time showcases of multiple cliches. Overall, a Classic Crime Drama and highly effective for its time.
RATING - 8/10*
By - #samthebestest.