Aug 31, 2005 07:47 AM
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(Updated Feb 08, 2006 07:12 PM)
Arguably, one of the finest films India has produced. One of the most talented actors and a brilliant director combine to give birth to a masterpiece called ''Nayagan''. Based on the epic ''Godfather'' the director has done a wonderful job not making a thorough copy of it. He has in-fact added to the brilliance of the movie by adapting it to our country and its society.
What is most glaring is the importance to minute details. Every action has been studied, every dialogue carries its weight, every setting is perfect, and every actor has excelled. Natural and perfect are the words that keep knocking on your mind as you watch the movie. There must be countable number of movies in the history of Indian cinema where farfetchedness, or for that matter, even flaws are hard to find. This is definitely one amongst those few perfect movies.
As we are today bombarded by the so called ‘true to life’, ‘loyal to the stories they are based on’ movies, all you have to do is look up the shelves, find this movie and watch it again to realize the difference between mediocrity and class. Such comparison to any other present day movies based on the same lines or otherwise will border on a culpable act.
The beauty of this movie, lies in the portrayal of the character, you see the protagonist (Velu Nayakan) grow from an innocent, wide-eyed kid trying to understand the complexities of life, growing up into a murderer, a smuggler, local area goon, one amongst the local Bombay dons, a kingpin, an answerable family man, a leader .…. Nayakan. This transition is gradual, the story touches and dwells thoroughly on each of these individuals, each get their prominence, each individual is developed and cultivated. The reasons are always not clear as it is in life itself. Justifications are not provided and are not warranted. The question of right or wrong is not a question that is necessary to be asked.
Details – All the laurels and accolades in the world will still seem less for the kind of in-depth detail concentration gone into this movie. Relationships are so wonderfully developed, characters are so complete even in possible bit roles and every act is flawless. Mani Ratnam deserves a standing ovation. The art, of making a movie, which covers the entire life of an individual from his childhood to his death, is seldom attempted and when attempted usually ends up with a sense of deficiency, leaving the viewer unsatisfied. An example of the opposite is this wonderful movie, where not only are you a part of Velu Nayakan’s life and story for more than three hours, you are left with a sense of being with the character, in essence that you can almost feel and understand his pain, his joys and his losses and his thinking. I have been unable to feel the same effect of oneness with the protagonist in any recent movies made.
Actors – the cast seems almost perfect. You can think of no replacements and you will not dare to. Kamal Hassan’s superiority as an actor is beyond debate, it could be carried forward a step by announcing, perhaps his best work till date. Support cast vie with each other as performers. Janagaraj as Selva, Nasser as the ACP and son-in-law, Saranya as Neela, Vasudev Rao s Vaapa are all superb. But, the movie is about Velu Nayagan and Nayagan is about Kamal Hassan. He steals the show. He pushes aside all others from the viewer’s mind. He makes sure he is remembered for a long time as the actor who, not just portrayed, but was “Nayagan”.
The maestro has jumped into it as well, Illayraja creates such haunting and memorable tunes, almost epitomizing the characters life and story in one beautiful and touching song “Thenpandi Seemayilae” which follows the story of the protagonist throughout his life and is placed at all the right moments of his life. Another lesson to be learnt by the Sandeep Chowta’s and Rehmans of today is the effective usage of no background music during intense moments. As much as the background score can add to the movie, it can lead to a scene’s downfall with unnecessary usage of background music. This especially is noticeable in RGVs movie, with Chowta going all out to fill the entire movie with incessant background noise. Please watch and learn from this movie is my advice to them.
Editing, cinematography, lighting, sets, background detailing all get full marks bordering close to perfection on all fronts. For someone who does not understand the language, I have watched this movie over and over again and will continue studying this masterpiece.
This movie is full of intense, penetrating, and subtle yet stirring scenes and it makes one hard to pick and choose mentionable scenes, yet I have dared to choose some scenes, which have had unforgettable impact on me.
Young Ratna Velu (Shakti/ Velu Nayagan) sipping tea with Selva on one of the benches of a tea shop, the streets are wet with rain, and Selva prods Velu to tell him the reason for running from home, Velu listens quietly Selva’s mundane guesses like, “did you fail in the exam / did you steal….. ?” and looks up into his eyes and says “I committed a murder”.
The school going Neela tells Velu “I am afraid I will cry”, to which he replies “Go ahead and cry” leading to her breaking down on the shoulders of Nayakan on the open streets of Bombay. You can see that subtle moment when Velu is embarrassed and looks around, but then, embraces her harder.
Velu Nayakan’s son Surya looks away from his father before putting the pan into his mouth, after a bed ridden Nayakan offers him the pan calling him “Nayakan” as he is leaving the room, epitomizing the handing over of power by the reluctant father. He then looks helplessly without any answer as his daughter looks accusingly at him.
His Muslim friend with tears in his eyes tells him “My son is your son” as Nayakan walks down enquiring about the crowd and commotion without knowing his son is dead.
His confrontation with his daughter, he is furious and slaps his daughter for hitting Selva, he then is unable to neither console her nor answer her questions.
His grand child asking him innocently “Are you good or bad?” and his reply “I don’t know.”
I can list another 20 scenes, all equally memorable and touching, but the image I will carry most and will remember it whenever I think of this move, is Nayagan staring straight ahead, fury and pain in his eyes, performing his wife’s last rites, without blinking declares that he wants the Reddy brother’s dead before the completion of the final rites. If a cinema can be captured in all its totality on a single still shot, this is it for this magnum opus.
What an actor, what a movie!!!!!!!
Please do comment, Thanks!!!
