Movie: Nayagan
Language: Tamil
Year: 1987
Director: Mani Ratnam
Music: Maestro Ilayaraja
Cinematography: P C Sriram
Why it's Key: A great work of the trio "Mani Ratnam - Ilayaraja - P C Sriram" that contains many stupendous moments of film-making. Nayagan isn't just a splendid homage to Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. It's also one of the best examples of how mainstream Indian film-makers effortlessly synthesize diverse influences to produce a hybrid form that nods both to orient and occident. The film was nominated as India's official entry for the 1988 Academy Awards. In 2005, the Time Magazine included Nayagan in its list of "All-Time 100 Best Films".
Key Scene: The movie's centerpiece is a vendetta sequence that references The Godfather but also established Mani Ratnam's mastery of composition, shot breakdown, and narrative rhythm. Neela (Saranya), wife of an up-and-coming smuggler Velu Naiker (Kamal Hassan) has been gunned down by his rivals, the Reddy brothers. Naiker swears revenge before his wife's cremation rites have been completed. Thus begins Nayagan's most chilling sequence, in which Naiker consolidates his position in the underworld. Through a series of cuts, edited to a rhythm similar to the sequence in The Godfather when Michael Corleone avenges his brother Sonny's killing, the Reddy brothers die one by one. The sequence seamlessly weaves together several gorgeously composed shots that depict Naiker's goons killing one brother while frolicing with prostitutes and another at the parking lot. Naiker takes the third brother himself by shooting him in the eye through a peephole. The sequence lasts a few minutes but lingers in the mind long after the film is over.
There are many such scenes in the film - Naiker avenges his foster father's death, the hospital scene, the first interaction between Naiker and Neela (and the divine BGM that complements it), Naiker visiting his daughter's place, the climax scene where his grandson asks whether he's a good man or a bad man, and many more. Every scene was nurtured to perfection and given a unique treatment that stood as a hallmark of screenwriting. If anyone had asked me what's my favorite movie of all time?, I'd probably chose this one without a second thought. Mani Ratnam's movies display precision and poise and replace the declamatory dialogue dear to Tamil movies with meaningful pauses and crisp lines. Nayagan is one of the best examples of Mani Ratnam's cinema and a welcome addition to the post Godfather gangster-film tradition.
There are many such scenes in the film - Naiker avenges his foster father's death, the hospital scene, the first interaction between Naiker and Neela (and the divine BGM that complements it), Naiker visiting his daughter's place, the climax scene where his grandson asks whether he's a good man or a bad man, and many more. Every scene was nurtured to perfection and given a unique treatment that stood as a hallmark of screenwriting. If anyone had asked me what's my favorite movie of all time?, I'd probably chose this one without a second thought. Mani Ratnam's movies display precision and poise and replace the declamatory dialogue dear to Tamil movies with meaningful pauses and crisp lines. Nayagan is one of the best examples of Mani Ratnam's cinema and a welcome addition to the post Godfather gangster-film tradition.
Watch this video from 4:05 to 7:05
That's all folks, I will be back soon with SEEN this SCENE # 2.
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