Nayagan

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[indent=1][background=#ffae00][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][b]NOSTALGIC NAYAGAN[/b][/size][/font][/background][/indent]

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[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][color=#999999][size=2]21 Oct 2012- [/size][/color] [color=#FF0000][size=2][i]01 31 PM[/i][/size][/color][/font]

Mani Ratnam’s Nayagan is completing 25 years of release today. Cinema Lead pays tribute to the timeless classic that brought Tamil cinema International recognition.
Though many ‘epics’ are made by film makers across the globe, only a few films get deeply imprinted in the minds of audience. Such films do not have any constraints like nativity and language and it will be unanimously celebrated by the critics and film goers alike. “God Father” from Hollywood and “Bicycle Thief” from Italy belong to that category. Similarly on 21[sup]st[/sup] October 1987, a film, rather an epic Nayagan was screened and became a cult classic.
Nayagan was the joining together of a fantastic four - Kamal Hassan, Mani Ratnam, PC Sreeram and Thotta Tharani, and the film took all the four into a high pedestal of acclaim.When Nayagan was made, Mani Ratnam had just tasted his first commercial success with “Mounaragam” that starred Revathy and Mohan.Thotta Tharani had just made his debut with “Raja Parvai” and PC Sreeram was recognized for his films “Poovey Poochudava” and “Mounaragam”. So when Nayagan was about to release, people did not think that the film will become such a cult classic in the future.With Nayagan, the entire nation witnessed an epic from down South which was so far known for it’s over the top commercialism. So the real question is why “Nayagan” is called such an epic, why the film got rave reviews and why the film was selected as one among the 100 best films by TIME magazine? We try to discuss the unique feature of Nayagan in this article….
“Nayagan” can be considered as an Indian reply to “Godfather”. Though Hollywood had witnessed lot of quality films, “Godfather” has a special place in Hollywood and similarly Nayagan has a special place in Indian cinema.It is not easy to portray an underworld don’s life with so much reality on screen. A director can sketch an imaginary character by adding many shades to it by observing people whom he had seen or read. But when you are filming a semi-biography of a living don, it needs special attention and Mani Ratnam could do it in “Nayagan” successfully.
The film successfully depicted how a normal man is forced to become a don. The characterization of Velu Nayakar has been beautifully sketched right from his childhood till his death which is a proof for the immense research work involved.Though Kamal won National Award for “Moonram Pirai”, it is Nayagan which made him stop acting in all and sundry masala flicks. It was not easy for a 33-year old commercial actor to portray a 60- year old man in Nayagan. His character travelled form a young man to middle aged to the old with elan.
The “Dharavi” which was shown in Nayagan is actually a set. But while watching the film, people believed that it was the real Dharavi. Thotta Tharani became a most wanted art director post the film. Nayagan was the second film for Thotta Tharani after Rajaparvai.
PC Sreeram had been lauded for his phenomenal work in Mounaragam. But still it was Nayagan which gave him a strong name and his association with Mani Ratnam was cemented through the film. The combination has been giving classics like Agni Natchathiram, Thiruda Thiruda and Alaipayuthey to name a few. Nayagan was a confidence booster for Mani Ratnam to make more bio-pics and he went on to make films like Iruvar (MGR-Karunanithi) and Guru (Ambani).
Then comes the most scintillating part of the film. Who can forget Illayaraja’s master piece background score in Nayagan and the evergreen songs, “Then Paandi Seemayiley” and “Nee Oru Kadhal Sangeetham”.
It is very rare to see a film that’s wholesome and equally excels in all areas like acting, direction, screenplay, music and cinematography. Nayagan is one such film and it is a happy moment for us when it celebrates its Silver Jubilee of release.
Let’s hope the same combination or at least the Kamal- Mani Ratnam combo comes together in the near future to enthrall the film buffs at least once more…
Did You Know?
• Varadharaja Mudhaliar died in 1988 due to heart attack in Chennai. The ending of the protagonist in Nayagan was purely Mani Ratnam’s imagination.
• Maniratnam made Nayagan as a two part, five hours film. But his brother and producerGV was against it. Hence the film was edited and trimmed to a145 minutes film.
• Nayagan was later made in Hindi as Dayavan starring Vinod Khanna (Kamal’s role)and it was directed by Feroz Khan.
• The film received three National awards - The Best Actor for Kamal Hassan, BestCinematography for PC Sreeram and Best Art Direction for ThottaTharani.
• The film has been listed as all time 100 best films by TIME magazine and is also included in the Moving Art Film Journal as one of the greatest films of all time.[/font][/background]

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http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/of-course-velu-nayakan-doesnt-dance/article4008896.ece?homepage=true