They succeed in eliminating the witness, but their failure to cover their tracks leads police to him at a petrol bunk and an accident costs him his life. For his first real test, he is required to eliminate a potential witness against his father he does this by hiring outside thugs. The son, Surya (Nizhalgal Ravi), is eager to join his father in his activities, despite his father's reluctance. Velu's kids are sent away to Chennai as a result and return years later to their father's home, as young adults. Conflicts and power struggles occur in the competitive web of the smuggling world, in which Velu's wife becomes a casualty. He marries a destitute school-girl-turned-prostitute (Saranya) and has two children. As their godfather and protector, he flourishes by resuming his dead foster-father's local smuggling activities. Kamal Hassan in a scene from the movieWith this act, he is seen at once a saviour and a man to be feared amongst the slum residents. Velu Naiker, now a young man who has come into his own, goes in search of the officer and bludgeons him to death. Upon his running afoul of a senior crime lord, the corrupt local police officer Inspector Kelkar arrests the fisherman on smuggling charges, and is later murdered. His foster-father is also a small-time smuggler known for his generosity in the slum. Stranded and homeless in the big city, he is rescued by a kind-hearted Muslim fisherman who takes him into his home in the sprawling suburban slums of Dharavi. Then after doing the final rites for his father, he kills the person who was the cause for his father's death. The child, Velu, is tricked by the police into locating his father, and then witnesses his father's death in a police shootout. PlotSakthivelu Nayakar (Kamal Hassan), the protagonist, is born to an anti-government union leader. A dubbed version of the film was released as Velu Nayakan in 1999. The film was remade in Hindi as Dayavan in 1988, with Vinod Khanna playing the part of Saktivelu and with Feroz Khan and Madhuri Dixit playing the roles of Selvam and Neela. In 2005, Time Magazine included Nayagan in its "All-Time 100 Best Films" list. The film was nominated by India as its entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards in 1987. The soundtrack of the film was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The lead character is played by Kamal Haasan, and the film also stars Saranya, Karthika, Nassar, Delhi Ganesh and Janagaraj.
Nayagan (which means 'Hero' or 'Leader') is based on the real-life Bombay underworld don Varada or Varadarajan Mudaliar, and sympathetically depicts the struggle of South Indians living in Bombay (now Mumbai). The film also earned National Award for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. Maniratnam earned accolades from all over India and became popular overnight. Kamal Hassan's performance in this film earned him a Best Actor award.
Upon release, the movie got rave reviews across India. Nayakan English: Leader) is a 1987 Tamil film, written and directed by Mani Ratnam.