Nayagan :-))

Well the "obsessive psycho" in me had to do this, if there is one thing i love to do it is to indulge repeatedly in things that im crazy bout. Right on top is watching, watching, watchin and re watching select scenes in "nayagan"(probably the finest ever manirathnam movie). What gets me going is the inner urge in me to watch a scene for "one last time". Among those "one last time" scenes is the scene where kamal potrays a distraught father at his sons funeral. A despodent hopeless look up
towards the sky shot through the flames of the pyre says it all. If there is acting to be learnt sans histrionics its that scene. If the expressions on kamals face were not enough the picturisation and the haunting notes of ilayaraja immortalises
the scene. Apart from these scenes there are a lot of heart wrenching scenes , well as i repeatedly quote "if its got emotional intensity then hand the stage over to kamal" (yep i hav no issues quoting even though im a "hyper amateurish" film
critic ;-)) )
There is this criticism of kamals so called "over dramatisation" in the scene were he sees his sons dead body. well if i am not wrong this happens in reality .if we could probably recap the over whelming scenes of tragedy during the tsunami including the award winning photograpph were a mother is lying distraught on the sea shore , the gamut of expressions including the famous "kamal cry" pales in comparison. I can probably thump my chest and proclaim that if other actors believe in acting their roles kamal beleives in LIVING them. A true classic cannot survive on expressing a single facet of human emotion. This rule holds good even for Nayagan. There are a couple real intimate sentimental scenes which explore the entire gamut of emtions right from humour to true blue fear which is all pervasive in the typical dark gallows of the bombay underworld. The scene where he confronts his daughter who questions his ways is sheer brilliance with kamal having to play a
literal split personality between a doting father and gangster who is recalcitrant about his bad ways.
Movies like these i firmly believe happen and are not really planned . It brought the super trio of ilayaraja,manirathnam and kamal together. The result was 3 hours of sheer creative excellence well how better to reflect upon its excellence when kamal himself repeatedly quotes in interviews "nayagan is the best ever role ive played , but id like to move on". Surely when certain moments of the past(let they be in art, sport,literature or any manifestation of human expression) haunt you in terms of sheer excellence i firmly believe those moments represent insurpassable genius.