Nayagan

The two years I studied in Bombay (1975–77), he (Varadarajan Mudaliar) was at his peak. People in the Matunga belt thought he was God. I used to wonder how anyone could treat a fellow human as God. I never understood why they would do this. It fascinated me. It was such a dramatic story, this man going fromTamil Nadu to Bombay and ruling the city. I outlined this thought to Kamal Haasan and he said fine. That's it. It was done. Decided. - Maniratnam.

Nayagan traces the rise of Velu Naicker(Kamal), who runs away from his home in Tamil Nadu, following the murder of his unionist father to Mumbai, where he is raised in the Dharavi slums by Hussain(Vasudeva Rao) a bootlegger. However with Hussain falling ill, Velu decides to take over his guardian's activities, and begins to demand a larger comission, enraging the bosses, who get the corrupt Inspector Kelkar( Pradeep Shakti) to arrest Hussain and kill him, passing it off as suicide.

Velu muders Kelkar in the slums, taking care of his wife and mentally disabled son, and soon begins to grow in importance, as a leader to the slum dwellers fighting on their behalf. He also rescues a young girl Neela(Saranya) from prostitution and marries her. When Neela is killed in a gang attack, he sends his children away to keep them safe, while he slowly rises up in the ranks to become the uncrowned king of the underworld.

Nayagan's story is very much the standard gangster flick, protagonist belonging to lower strata, entering into a world of crime, and rising up the ranks. Personally I feel it was more closer to Godfather II, as in tracing the rise of Don Vito Corleone, though some scenes were pretty much influenced by the Godfather.

The police officer comming to Velu Naicker, asking him for justice for his daughter gang raped by 4 guys belonging to rich families was straight off Godfather's opening scene. This same scene was again repeated in RGV's Sarkaar, Gaayam, with different characters.

Again scene where the rival Reddiar's gang members are killed off one by one, is very much influenced by the Godfather's ending scene. Though the scene where Velu and his friend Selvam(Janagraj) get across the illegal consignment in ships was more influenced by a similiar scene in Once Upon a Time in America.

What really makes Nayagan stand out is Mani's narrative, more subtle, understated never going over the top. Mani eschews the temptation to put in grand operatic action scenes or long shootouts to elevate the protagonist . The only action scene in the movie where Velu murders the corrupt inspector Kelkar, in pouring rain, is more realistic. Also the scene where Velu is tortured in prison by Kelkar is quite harrowing.

Matter of fact, Velu Naicker though revered as a Nayagan, does not see himself as one. As in that memorable scene where he is asked "Are you good or bad?", and he just nods "I don't know". He is a character who essentially fights to survive, and then slowly rises to the top, he never really cares much for morality or ethics. But at the same time, he does not want his children to follow his path, keeping them away from it.

Mani's strength has been the emotional scenes, and he shows it once again in Nayagan, like the scene where Kamal's daughter questions him, and blames him for the death of her mother and brother. The small bit where Kamal slaps his daughter in anger, and immediately becomes remorseful. Or towards the climax, where Kamal visits the home of the cop(Nasser) who is on his trail and finds he is married to his daughter, the tender moment so beautifully shot.

My favorite though would be the scene, where Kamal breaks down on seeing his son's burnt corpse. The way Mani builds it up, people gloomy and silent all around, the indirect hints they give(Aapka beta mera beta hai), and finally Kamal knowing the truth. The scene where he breaks down seeing his son's corpse, a master class in acting.

Nayagan belongs to Kamal Hassan, the way he showcases the transition from a youngster to the gang leader, his body language, mannerisms, right from the chewing of pan, his gait, that National Award was very much well deserved.

Among other characters Janagaraj as his friend Selvam, Karthika as his daughter, Saranya as his wife do well. That said I felt the other characters in Nayagan were not developed that well, reason why I rate Thalapathy a tad higher, that had so many memorable characters. Even the rival gangsters are shown rather sketchily.

Illayaraja's music is as good as usual, great soundtrack, but it's the BGM that really elevates the movie, be it during the funeral of Kamal's son, or the scenes showing Kamal's rise to power. P.C.Sreeram's camera beautifully captures Mumbai of those times, as well as the slum surroundings, the light and shade in interior scenes.

Nayagan was a combination of 4 formidable talents- Kamal, Maniratnam, Illayaraja and P.C.Sreeram, one in front of the camera, three behind it, it's not a surprise that the movie turned out to be the kind of classic, that you can watch as many times and still keep finding something new in it.