''Nayakan'' is a 2010 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

-language

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Lijo Jose Pellissery Lijo Jose Pellissery (born 18 September 1978) is an Indian filmmaker and actor who works in Malayalam cinema. Known for his unconventional approach in directing, his films are characterized by nonlinear storylines and very long takes. His best ...

and written by P. S. Rafeeq. It stars

Indrajith Sukumaran Indrajith Sukumaran (born 17 December 1978) is an Indian actor and singer. He predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Indrajith was born to the actors Sukumaran and Mallika Sukumaran and is the elder brother of Prithviraj Sukumaran. Indrajit ...

Thilakan Palappurathu Kesavan Surendranatha Thilakan (15 July 1935 – 24 September 2012) was an Indian film and stage actor who appeared in over 200 Malayalam films. Thilakan was known for his elaborate method acting, realistic and spontaneous appearan ...

Jagathy Sreekumar Sreekumar P. K. (born 5 January 1951), better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four decad ...

Dhanya Mary Varghese Dhanya Mary Varghese is an Indian actress known for her work in the Malayalam cinema and television. She has appeared in over 20 films, the majority of which were in Malayalam. Aside from movies, she has appeared in a number of television show ...

and Siddique. The film revolves around a

Kathakali Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...

artist, Vardanunni, who joins the underworld to take revenge on those who killed his family and destroyed his life.

Plot

Vardanunni is the son of famous

artist Ramankutty Ashan (master). Ashan's dream was to make his son also a famous Kathakali artist. But Varadanunni, having seen that his dad could not earn anything from his art, decides to go to

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

after he gets a job. His father insists that Varadan should come with them to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

for a Kathakali performance but Varadan defies his father and goes to

to take up his new job. In Mumbai, Ramankutty and his daughter happen to witness the murder of a popular politician at the hands of a famous magician turned underworld don Shankar Das (alias JS). The wicked Sankar Das kills Ramankutty and his daughter to eliminate all proof of the murder. But Ramankutty had called Nambeesan (his close confidante) on his mobile before this and informed that he saw Sankar Das murdering the politician. When Varadan comes back from Bangalore, he gets to know from Nambeesan that his family has been murdered by JS. Varadan goes to meet Sankar Das and tries to beat him up in anger. But he gets arrested and gets beaten up badly. He is rescued by Karanavar, another underworld kingpin. Karanavar's son was killed by Shankar Das and so he also has a score to settle with JS. Together they decide to take revenge against JS and with clever tactics - by sowing the seeds of mistrust between his business associates Thomas Brothers and Douglas - as part of the plan, Thomas Brothers are killed and Douglas is left with the option of making a truce with Karanavar. Advocate Sreenivasan, J.S's legal attorney betrays him and has J.S brought to a deserted Island - following the instructions of Karanavar and Varadan, utilising Douglas as a bait. Karanavar fires six bullets at point blank range piercing J.S's forehead - while the latter is tied to an old anchor. Before being killed, Shankar Das warns Karanavar about an imminent resurrection.

Cast

as Varadanunni *

as Vincent Karanavar/ Vincent Vadakkan * Siddique as Shankar Das alias J.S. / Ram Das *

as Nambeeshan *

as Mariya, Vincent Karanavar's daughter *

Kalashala Babu Kalasala Babu (1950 14 May 2018) was an Indian actor who performed on stage, and in television serials and films. On stage Babu had been acting in radio plays while at college. Following his graduation in 1973, Babu acted in ''Paanchajanyam ...

as Ramankutty Aashan *

Vijayaraghavan Vijayaraghavan (born 20 December 1951) is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He is popular for his character roles. He is the son of popular drama and cinema artist N. N. Pillai. He got his break by playing the iconic ...

as William Thomas *

Lalu Alex Lalu Alex is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema. In a career spanning four decades, Lalu Alex has acted over 250 movies and is known for his character roles, comic roles and antagonistic roles in Malayalam movie industry. Lalu Alex ...

as Rajagopal *

Sreejith Ravi Sreejith Ravi (born 19 May 1976) is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Malayalam films and also in Tamil films. He is the son of actor T. G. Ravi. Early life Sreejith is the son of actor and industrialist T. G. Ravi and V. K. Subhad ...

as James *

Anil Murali Anil Murali (12 April 1964 – 30 July 2020) was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 200 films. He started out in the film industry as a villain before later taking on character roles. He died on 30 July 2020, as a re ...

as Francis * Salu K George * Shivaj *

Ambika Mohan Ambika Mohan is an Indian actress known for her work in Malayalam cinema and television series mostly in supporting roles. She made her debut in the film, ''Meghamalhar ''Meghamalhar'' is a 2001 Indian Malayalam-language romance film writ ...

as Vincent Karanavar's wife/Mariya's mother *

Chemban Vinod Jose Chemban Vinod Jose is an Indian actor, film producer, and screenwriter, who predominantly works in Malayalam films. He is a physiotherapist by profession.Lijo Jose Pellissery Lijo Jose Pellissery (born 18 September 1978) is an Indian filmmaker and actor who works in Malayalam cinema. Known for his unconventional approach in directing, his films are characterized by nonlinear storylines and very long takes. His best ...

as Steve

Reception

The film mostly received positive reviews from critics. Veeyen of Nowrunning.com rated the film and wrote: "Nayakan is an exceptionally polished film, a strange combine of a creepy drama and a jet-black thriller that gradually builds to an almost chimerical climax." The reviewer was all praise for the technical parts of the film. He writes: "The non-intrusive background score and a remarkable musical score by Prashant Pillai that gels adeptly with the murky mood of the film gets under your skin as much as the film does. Manoj Paramahamsa's camera is nothing short of savage, and probes into every nook and corner when it's not lurking around unnoticed." The critic appreciates the direction writing: "'Nayakan' would have ended up as another routine study on the spirit of retribution, had it not had an enterprising director at its helm. Lijo makes an imposing debut with the film that prickles our senses with plenty of smart moments." Paresh C Palicha of Rediff.com wrote: "There are films that pleasantly surprise you in times when originality goes for a toss. One such film is Nayakan, a Malayalam film that not only grabs your attention by its originality of premise or treatment, but by its sincerity as well." A critic from

Sify.com Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...

commented: "There have been not many films in Malayalam during recent times that make such an impact in the viewer's mind as debutant director Lijo Jose Pellissery's Nayakan."

Oneindia.in Oneindia.com is an Indian website established in January 2006 by BG Mahesh. The website provides news updates, information on sports, events, travel, entertainment, business, lifestyle, videos, and classifieds in seven different Indian language ...

's reviewer said: "Nayakan is an extra ordinary one with a new impact on the audience."

References

External links

* {{Lijo Jose Pellissery 2010 films 2010s Malayalam-language films 2010 crime films Films about organised crime in India Indian gangster films Indian crime films Indian films about revenge 2010 directorial debut films Films directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery