This film is supposed to be based on the life of mobster Varadarajan Mudaliar. However, when I read up on this criminal's career, it was quite different from the guy in this film--very. While both were apparently beloved by the community, Mudaliar's real life death was incredibly boring and was nothing like the film. Additionally, while Mudaliar might have been a good guy in some ways, in real life he was responsible for the sale of narcotics--something not exactly heroic. There are probably man other differences. Suffice to say, the film is fiction.
"Nayakan" begins with a little boy being beaten by some cops. They want to know where the boy's father is but the kid won't talk. So, they let him go and follow at a distance. Then, when they found the father, they murdered him. his offense--being a union organizer. Later, at the funeral, the young boy, Ratnavelu, grabs a knife and stabs one of the policemen there. He then runs off to Mumbai (far from his Tamil roots in Southern India) and lives life on the streets--with no family and no home.
Years pass. Now Ratnavelu is an adult and has learned the life on the streets well. Now he's a mobster--a mob boss who is adored by the poor. Considering his childhood, this shouldn't come as a big surprise. However, like Robin Hood, Ratnavelu ALSO tries to bring justice to the poor and is a very just man--in his own way. There's MUCH more to this movie than this--just see the film for yourself to see.
Some of what is bad about this film is not the fault of the filmmakers and will only cause issues if you watch the Pyramid DVD. This is because too much of the dialog is NOT captioned! Why?! It could be worse--but at least they captioned the songs--something other video companies often don't do! Another problem I don't blame the filmmakers for is the tinny sounding music (yes, singing in a gangster film). In ALL the 70s and 80s Indian films I've seen, the sound of the music was pretty terrible. Fortunately, newer Indian films are VERY professional--among the best made and produced films in the world. What the filmmakers could have done better was the direction and editing. In one sloppy scene, the rooftop changes mid-scene--and as the sun went down, the two scenes were probably separated by 15 minutes or so--making the sun seem VERY weird in India! Apart from these cosmetic problems, the film was excellent. If you are making a film to glorify mobsters and make the police evil, you couldn't have done a better job. An interesting script and nice acting sure helped. Well worth seeing.
"Nayakan" begins with a little boy being beaten by some cops. They want to know where the boy's father is but the kid won't talk. So, they let him go and follow at a distance. Then, when they found the father, they murdered him. his offense--being a union organizer. Later, at the funeral, the young boy, Ratnavelu, grabs a knife and stabs one of the policemen there. He then runs off to Mumbai (far from his Tamil roots in Southern India) and lives life on the streets--with no family and no home.
Years pass. Now Ratnavelu is an adult and has learned the life on the streets well. Now he's a mobster--a mob boss who is adored by the poor. Considering his childhood, this shouldn't come as a big surprise. However, like Robin Hood, Ratnavelu ALSO tries to bring justice to the poor and is a very just man--in his own way. There's MUCH more to this movie than this--just see the film for yourself to see.
Some of what is bad about this film is not the fault of the filmmakers and will only cause issues if you watch the Pyramid DVD. This is because too much of the dialog is NOT captioned! Why?! It could be worse--but at least they captioned the songs--something other video companies often don't do! Another problem I don't blame the filmmakers for is the tinny sounding music (yes, singing in a gangster film). In ALL the 70s and 80s Indian films I've seen, the sound of the music was pretty terrible. Fortunately, newer Indian films are VERY professional--among the best made and produced films in the world. What the filmmakers could have done better was the direction and editing. In one sloppy scene, the rooftop changes mid-scene--and as the sun went down, the two scenes were probably separated by 15 minutes or so--making the sun seem VERY weird in India! Apart from these cosmetic problems, the film was excellent. If you are making a film to glorify mobsters and make the police evil, you couldn't have done a better job. An interesting script and nice acting sure helped. Well worth seeing.