Note: I saw this in the third week of November 2025 and started writing this post the same day. However, work got very busy and I couldn’t complete it. But I was determined to finish it. So here I am, back in January 2026 to complete this.

Here we go.

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And, yes it finally happened. Saw the OG “gangster” tamil movie in the big screen.

This year has been one of the best years for me with respect to movies.

A year where I got to see all of my favorite “gangster” movies in the big screen. First, it was “Pudhupettai”. Followed by the part 1 and part 2 of The Godfather. Ending with Nayagan last week.

Though I have re-visited various scenes of Nayagan many times, I have only seen the whole movie in one single sitting only a few times.

This time, obviously since the story is well known, watching it in the theatre provided a great experience of watching all the nuances the entire movie crew has put together. Those nuances that has made this movie as one of the greatest Tamil or I would even say Indian movie of all time. It was in Time magazine’s 2005 list of top 100 greatest movies of all time.

I personally noticed so many things in the movie and was smiling and discussing them with my friend during the movie. With no specific order, here are some things that stood out for me.

Neenga Nallavara Kettavara?

Are you a good person or a bad person?

This dialog is so popular that any Tamil speaking person would know the reference. But while watching this movie only I figured out the “origin” for Mani Ratnam to make this movie.

Mani Ratnam had spoken about how he had heard about this person called “Varadaraja Mudaliyar” when he studied in Bombay.

I guess it’s Mani’s intrinsic question of how come a person who is wanted by the police for so many crimes in the city, is also the most loved person by the people in Daravi?

Is this person a good person or a bad person? Nallavara, Kettavara?

Mani is so brilliant that he doesn’t try to answer this in the movie. He doesn’t put his view across. He has just laid out various parts of Velu Nayakkar’s life in this movie. And keeps questioning the audience “What do you think? Is he a good person or bad person?”

Think about this – Velu kills the rogue cop who has been torturing the people of Daravi only to be shown in the next scene that there is a mentally challenged kid who now doesn’t have an earning member to support him. So is Velu’s action justified?

Or let’s take this scene where Velu brings the goods stuck in the harbour to Reddy brothers surprise. The very ambulance that he bought for supporting the people of Daravi is being used to safely transport the smuggled goods.

To protect himself, his family and the fortune he has built, he decides (though difficult) to send his son to “take care” of the person who has turned approver, only to loose his son forever. His daughter very rightly says in the next scene that “I am going to Chennai. First you killed my mother. Now my brother. If I stay here I will also get killed”.

Through all these scenes Mani Ratnam very cleverly poses the question in the mind of the audience only to be explicitly asked by the grandson in the court.

I never understood the movie’s core like this until I watched it this time.

The Daughter

I was so blown away by the genius of Mani Ratnam in how the daughter character is written in the movie.

The character is so grounded in reality – the way how daughters will behave it real life. How women behave in real life.

At a very young age, after the death of the Saranya character, Kamal decides to send the kids to Chennai to keep the away from him. Without much of context, it’s the daughter, when the train just starts moving asks “Ungala la dhaan amma sethuttanga nnu solraangale. Unmaya appa?”. Mani clearly sets the stage for what’s going to come.

And then when the daughter is all grown up, she is the one who questions what right Kamal has to decide what’s right or wrong.

And she makes an emotional decision to marry a cop (very typical of how women would react in real life). And still keeps the name of her son as “Sakthivelu” to just have the memory of her past and not pass it down to the next generation.

Sheer brilliance in writing.

Mani also very cleverly creates the character of Nizhalgal Ravi. As a typical son who has seen his dad in younger days, he is attracted to the power and influence of being a “Nayakkar”. And solves issues for people when his dad cannot.

And also decides to step in to save his father when his father is sick.

Which brings me to the next brilliance in film making – an amazing staging, camera and music.

The “pan” shot that I love watching a million times

Just watch the below scene.

Kamal approves Nizhalgal Ravi’s plan and has kinda-sorta passed on the baton.

Nizhalgal Ravi is very happy. He eats the “paan” (beeda).

The camera is positioned behind Kamal and starts panning. It stops in the middle.

The son and dad are done with their conversation. Both are happy.

The camera pans further. The daughter appears.

Ilayaraja takes over and communicates what was not communicated by the daughter through any dialogue. The disappointment.

Watch from 1:47:24 to 1:48:17

Andhi Mazhai Megam

I always felt this song was there in the movie just because there had to be 5 songs in a movie. At least that’s how Tamil cinema was structured and watched in those days. In fact, I felt Mani just had kept 5 songs out of no option. Given a chance, he would have had no songs in the movie except may be “Thenpandi Cheemayilae” (which also seems to be an idea by Ilayaraja).

But this time, I was focusing on the lyrics of Andhi Mazhai Megam. And was blown away by the sheer quality of the lyrics. How deeply it conveyed the plight of lower class, their celebration and the class distinction in the society.

Just read through the below lyrics.

Neer nadakkum
Paadhai engum nanjaiyaanadhu

Naam nadakkum paadhai
Engum panjam ponadhu

Maadangal kalaikoodangal
Yaar seidhaar adhai naam seidhom

Naadaalum oru raajaangam
Yaar thandhaar adhai naam thandhom

Dhesam ennum solaiyil
Vergal naangalae

Thiyaagam ennum jodhiyil
Dheebam naangalae

Kamal’s Peak Performance

Of course, I don’t have to explain this in detail and everyone knows that Kamal peaked with Nayagan and pulled off the entire movie.

I kept smiling and getting goosebumps for everything that Kamal did in the movie.

Here’s one of my favorite.

Kamal sees his daughter who refuses to show her son to Kamal. Kamal is completely shattered by the whole sequence of events.

He is in his 60s. He comes out – check out the walking through the shot that shows his back. Kamal completely in the character and walking like how someone in their 60s would.

He exits the house. Turns to the right and see that’s not where the elevator is and then turns the left. (This could have got edited out or reshot. But they kept it because it felt real. Grounded.)

He presses the button to call for the elevator. And what he does next is just so grounded in real life.

His mind is completely with all those thoughts going on due to this interaction with his daughter.

The elevator doesn’t come immediately. He presses a few more times. And he starts walking down through the stairs.

This is exactly how we would do in real life.

And of course, a clever writing by Mani. Where Nasser comes out of the elevator and doesn’t see Kamal!!

Just this scene is enough to show the quality of the movie!

Watch from 2:08:04 (If you hit play, it should play right at that timestamp).

The “Aandava” and “Rudraksham”

In the climax sequence, Kamal finally sees his grandson and he is used to always giving something to people.

He searches for things in his hand and pocket and doesn’t have anything as he is coming from the jail.

He is devastated and just says “Aandava”. And by habit touches the “Rudraksham” he wears in his neck. Takes it away and gives it to his grandson. Literally god has intervened for this moment!!

What an absolute brilliance!

ps: I also had a goosebump for the sheer love of craftsmanship from Kamal and Mani Ratnam. This whole “Aandava” scene was written and performed by an actor and director who are fundamentally Atheist 🙂

Watch from 2:29:04

When I was in tears

The absolute last scene of the movie where “Thenpandi Cheemayilae” plays and the entire life of Velu Nayakkar is shown right from being a kid all the way till the end.

It also highlighted all the performances that Kamal pulled off in the movie. Probably Mani’s fan boy moment and doing a homage to Kamal.

But I couldn’t avoid thinking that Kamal is going to leave us one day. And literally all his performances that he has given us are going to play in our head. It’s going to be played on TVs and Youtube on that day. With probably “Thenpandi Cheemayilae” or “Vaanam thottu pona” (from Devar Magan) song being played.

I teared up in the theatre.

And I tear up now as I complete this.

Thank You Kamal.