Tamizh movie fans rejoice! Time magazine has included Nayakan in its list of 100 all time great movies. All the critics who dismissed Nayakan as a Godfather clone have been silenced! Here is my 2 cents on one of the best films Tamizh cinema has ever made.
Nayakan saw the coming together of the three kings- Manirathnam, Kamal and Ilayaraja (sadly, the three of them never made another movie together again, and none of their later movies were on par with Nayakan either)
I dont need to write a lot about the story - runaway boy becomes angry young man, who becomes the super cool don, who then ages into a sad soul who cannot figure out if he is "nallavanaa illa kettavanaa".
Nayakan can easily be counted among Kamal's best movies. True, Kamal was "inspired" by the lead stars of Godfather. But, he played the roles of both Al Pacino and Marlon Brando (something which neither of them could have done). Hollywood lore has it that Marlon Brando stuffed pieces of tissue paper into his cheeks to achieve the jowly Italian patriarch look. Kamal faithfully copied this and chewed vethalai throughout the second half of the movie to make similar facial expressions. As the angry young man, Kamal looked both vulnerable and extremely believable. And, was he hot!!!
Ilayaraja's music.....no words can do justice...he is the greatest!
Time magazine critic Richard Corliss gives Maniratnam his due credit in his write up:
"His movies, often dramatizing social unrest and political terrorism, churn with narrative tension and camera energy that would be the envy of Hollywood directors, if they were ever to see them".
The screenplay is racy, and manages to retain its sensitivity even in violent scenes. Maniratnam has been criticized for his clipped artificial dialogues. Actually, he thinks in english and then literally translates them into tamizh. There are many dialogues that have become classics like - "neenga nallavara illa kettavara?", "naalu per nalla irukanumna ..." etc.
Many of the scenes are so well taken, the movie should be prescribed viewing for any film making course. Here are some of the best:
- When Kamal's son dies, and he does the famous "uhaa haaaha... " cry
- Kamal getting mad at the doctors and nurses in the hospital because they refuse to take care of a poor child
- Kamal and his daughter fighting because she disagrees with him (kamal really slapped the actress during the shooting!)
- Kamal and his daughter meeting in Nasser's house
I could write another 1000 words - just get the video and watch it!
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