Mohammed Faizer I would rate this movie as a glowing example of the essence being inspired but the setup, execution and the ultimate product being original. people argue that the look of older Kamal's make-up being similar to that of Marlon Brando, the way Kamal cries when his son is killed is similar to the performance of Marlon Brando etc.. But no one can argue the fact that the scene build up and the way the story was setup was not lifted from the God Father, there are so many movies that are copied scene by scene (as a matter of fact the Hindi film Dayavan was a scene to scene copy of Nayakan but failed miserably!) but here the genius called Mani Ratnam has adopted the basic storyline and Indianized and made a masterpiece around a character (co-incidentally resembled much to the local Dharavi don Varadha Bhai) which was immortalized by Padmashree Dr. Kamal Haasan. A must watch for anyone who has an eye for meaningful entertainers with the best technicians in the industry at rollicking form firing all cylinders from Mani Ratnam, Kamal Haasan to Thotta Tharani, Ilaiyaraja, P.C Sreeram etc.

manix163 Nayakan is one of the best Indian crime movies out there and definitely a genius idea from the mind of critically acclaimed Mani Ratnam. The story revolves around a young boy who witnesses his father's death for being a labor leader. Thus starts the boy's rise in being a head gangster of a village. Tragedy always awaits him and through the movie, the audience is prompted to ponder about the central theme over and over again: is Nayakan good or bad. Extraordinary acting by Kamal Hassan and many themes are taken from the Godfather series (when Nayakan is old, Hassan also puts meat in his cheeks to get the voice of Marlon Brando from Godfather). All in all, a great watch and a beautiful finish. Highly recommended.

K Reddy If it is featured in the time magazine's 100 all time movies from all over the world, then it must be something. Mani Ratnam has done some great movies in south India. I like all his movies. And he pays more attention to all the details of the movie such as music, photography, casting, editing etc. You can see the quality of the movie and see the involvement of the director in the movie. I treat this more as a Mani Ratnam movie than Kamal Hasan though Kamal is one of my favorite actors. Go rent the movie. You will not be disappointed. Also, check out Mani Ratnam's other movies such as Roja, Mouna Raagam (Telugu), Githanjali, Sakhi, Iddaru, Guru etc. Also, in case you didn't already know, A R Rahman was introduced by Mani Ratnam through Roja. Check out. http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/the_complete_list.html

ashwath-kannan This movie by Maniratnam is definitely one of the finest movie ever made on the planet. It has got tremendous performance by Kamal Hassan who portrays various shades of emotions. The cinematography by PC Sriram is excellent. The movie should have definitely won Academy awards for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Actor and Best director. It begins with a young boy who has lost his father and comes to Bombay from his village and the social pressures makes him a Don-a saviour for the Tamil community of the slum area-Dharavi. The film shows various stages of Velu to Velu Nayakar. VeluNayakan is the modern day Robinhood who protects his folks in all the ways he can.Amazing screenplay and the natural lightings used throughout the film speaks for the cinematography. Best scenes are Velu Nayakar standing on the balcony of his house and people standing down..amazingly shotThe movie very well captures the life of a Mumbai based Don. Kudos to Maniratnam for Nayakan.