*If the high quality (HQ) link/button does not appear, please add &fmt=18 to the end of the address* Directed by: Mani Ratnam Produced by: Mani Ratnam, G. Venkateswaran Written by: Mani Ratnam Music by: Ilaiyaraaja Cinematography:P. C. Sriram Starring: Kamal Haasan, Saranya, Janagaraj, Tinnu Anand, Delhi Ganesh, Nizhalgal Ravi, Karthika, Nasser, Neena Nayakan (1987) is an Indian Tamil feature film written and directed by Mani Ratnam. Nayakan means \'The Hero\' or \'The Leader\' in Tamil. Nayakan is based on the life of a real-life Bombay underworld don - Varada or Varadarajan Mudaliar, and sympathetically depicts the struggle of South Indians living in Bombay (now Mumbai). Nayakan has been called \"The Godfather\" of Tamil cinema. The lead character is played by Kamal Haasan, and the film also stars Saranya, Karthika, Nassar, Delhi Ganesh and Janagaraj. The soundtrack of the film was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Nayakan was a massive blockbuster and ran for over 200 days in many theatres. The film won Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam many accolades and recognition throughout the whole nation; it helped Haasan secure a Indian National Award for his performance. The film was nominated by India as its entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards in 1987. In 2005, Time Magazine included Nayakan in its \"All-Time 100 Best Films\" list.