Nayakan (1987 film)

Nayakan English The Hero, also known as Nayagan, is a 1987 Indian Tamil crimedrama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam and starring Kamal Haasan. It is loosely based on the reallife Bombay underworld don Varadarajan Mudaliar, and sympathetically depicts the struggle of South Indians living in Bombay. The film also stars Saranya Ponvannan in her film debut. Karthika, Nassar, Janagaraj, Delhi Ganesh and Tinnu Anand play significant roles. The soundtrack and score of the film were composed by Ilaiyaraaja and was met with a successful response after release. The film has been inspired from Francis Ford Coppolas 1972 film The Godfather.

Sakthivelu alias Velu Nayakan is the son of an antigovernment union leader Kitty. The child, Velu, is tricked by the police into locating his father, and then witnesses his fathers death in a police shootout he later kills the person who was the cause of his fathers death and escapes to Bombay.Stranded and homeless in the big city, he meets two boys who take him to their home in the suburban slum area of Dharavi. Over there, a Muslim fisherman raises Velu the former is also a smalltime smuggler known for his generosity among the slum dwellers. Upon locking horns with a senior crime lord, a corrupt local police officer named Kelkar arrests the fisherman on smuggling charges and subsequently murders him. In revenge, Velu, now a young man Kamal Haasan kills the inspector, but as an act of remorse, he decides to adopt Kelkars mentally challenged son Ajith, and raise him as his own. With this act, Velu soon becomes a godfather of that area, engaged in smuggling and at the same time, supporting those who are in need of help. When he visits a brothel, he meets Neela Saranya Ponvannan, a destitute schoolgirlturnedprostitute, and is impressed by her dedication to continue studying despite being a prostitute he later marries her. ........

Source: Wikipedia