Nayakan

"Are you a good man or a bad man?"

1987 2h 36m TA

🙌

7.9

BANGER

⭐

8.6

IMDB

★7.9TMDB · 97★8.6IMDB · 27,667

DramaCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Velu Naicker, who witnesses the brutal murder of his father, kills a corrupt policeman and escapes to Mumbai, only to become a gangster.

“Are you a good man or a bad man?”

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Cast

Kamal Haasan
Sakthivel 'Velu' Naicker
Saranya Ponvannan
Neela
Karthika
Charumati (adult)
Janagaraj
Selvam
Delhi Ganesh
Iyer
Nizhalgal Ravi
Surya (adult)
Nassar
Assistant Commissioner Patil
Tinnu Anand
Ajit Kelkar

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mani Ratnam
Writers: Mani Ratnam, Mani Ratnam
Languages: English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu
Countries: India

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 156 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Mani Ratnam, shot by P. C. Sreeram. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ilaiyaraaja. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor B. Lenin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kamal Haasan and Saranya Ponvannan and Karthika carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Are you a good man or a bad man?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mani Ratnam directs. P. C. Sreeram behind the camera. Ilaiyaraaja scores. B. Lenin cuts. Produced in India. Dialogue in English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 156 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
239 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu.
4Directed by Mani Ratnam, shot by P. C. Sreeram. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Ilaiyaraaja. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor B. Lenin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Kamal Haasan and Saranya Ponvannan and Karthika carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Are you a good man or a bad man?".
9IMDB entry: tt0093603 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 97 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
11Classified under 11 themes, including "gangster", "gang war", "symbolism", "revenge".