Nayagan (2008) - REVIEW

[Giri]

Movie : Nayagan
Cast : Rithesh, Ramana, Sangeetha, Vaiyapuri, Pandiyarajan

Straight off the bat, the little known wannabe action hero J.K Riteesh’s cop movie Nayagan, is a far better than a recent film in the same genre. Like the proverbial curate’s egg, it is good in parts. However please discount the use of the title made famous by Mani Ratnam.

The film is etched from the popular Cellular (already ripped of by Aswin Shekhar and his Vegam), and an old police story of Telugu actor Balakrishna. Guru (J.K Riteesh) is a tough cop, a la ‘Dirty Harry’, who believes in instant justice. He has the support of his Chief (Radha Ravi), and takes on the big bad boys who are well connected in his fight to stop the trafficking of drugs and mysterious deaths of young women.

On a parallel line, a leading doctor Sandhya (Sangeetha) is kidnapped by a bad guy (Anandraj), till she reveals where her husband (Sriman) is hiding with some incriminating video tapes about his gang. Sandhya using a smashed phone of the kidnappers gets across to a fun loving guy Sakthi (Ramanna), who is running away with his girl (Keerthi Chawla) on her wedding day. Soon after many chases and twists Guru and Sakthi gang up against the baddies, leading to a stunning climax.

Anandraj in a dual role as calm and menacing villains is stereotyped. Sangeetha is her usual self, confident and clinical. Ramanna is fun and has a sympathetic role. J.K Riteesh is a pretty good action hero and does what superstars do with consummate ease- fighting a dozen guys at the same time.

Nayagan, does not claim anything big. It is unpretentious and turns out to be a slick and racy cop story with all essential masala ingredients, to drive away your weekend blues.

Verdict - Mass Masala