Naayagan begins with a young Velu running away to Bombay after killing a police officer who betrayed him. He is taken in by a tamil boy(in a terrific scene, the boy, who wants to know why Velu ran away, suggests the typical scenarios for a boy to run away like stealing or failing his exams until Velu replies that he killed someone) whose father is a smuggler. As a young man, his intrusion into his father's job gets his father killed. He searches out the policeman reponsible and bludgeons him to death. But the people living there see him as their saviour and protect his identity. So begins his rise as a leader to the people in Dharavi. He marries a young prostitute Neela(Saranya) and becomes the father of two children. But he loses his wife to the guns of a rival mafia gang. Wishing to protect his children from the life of crime he has been leading, he sends them away. But he continues doing good to his people. Inspite of his best efforts, he is unable to keep his son away from his business and this leads to disastrous consequences. He alienates his daughter too and she marries a police officer to repent for the sins of her father. This police officer ultimately becomes responsible for bringing Velu Naicker to justice.

With is larger-than-life yet human portrayal of a mafia don, Manirathnam's picture is an example of film-making at its finest. The obvious similarities to Godfather in no way reduce its lustre. Velu Naicker is presented not as a legend but as a man, with all his flaws and triumphs. From production design to human drama to sharply-etched performances, Naayagan has it all. There is not a single scene here that does not work at some level. From the very first scene to the last, the viewer's attentions is riveted to the screen and only when the final credits roll is he finally distracted to deliver a well-deserved applause.

The movie is successful in making us laugh as easily as it moves us to tears. It is impossible not to smile when Velu Naicker's son imitates his father in their courtyard. He offers his solutions to his friend's problems(he orders a 'hit' a teacher who beat one of them!) and then bumps into his father who has moved into the end of the line. Quickly recovering his senses, he asks his father what he wants. On the other hand, there are scenes, like when an old woman gives up her own life to save Naicker from the police, which melt our hearts. The scene where Naicker gives in to his son's desire to follow in his father's footsteps is an example of high-class filmmaking. Kamal calls his son "Naicker" for the first time and offers him betel leaves from his own box, which Ravi quickly tucks into his mouth after turning away from his father.

Kamalhassan delivers the performance of a long and impressive career as Velu Naicker(he won his second national award for best actor for the role). For two and a half hours, he is Velu Naicker himself and looks at home in all the different stages of his life captured here. Be it threatening a doctor to treat a poor boy or crying with a high-pitched shriek on seeing the body of his son, Kamal is outstanding. He ages convincingly, altering his whole posture and walk at each stage. There is not a wrong step in any of the other performances either. Janakaraj stands him in good stead throughout, shining in the scene where he is caught between Kamal and his daughter, who detests the violence. Saranya, in her first film, earns our sympathy as the school-going girl thrown into the life of prostitution. Pradeep Shakti is memorable as the rogue police officer. Smaller characters like ARS(a police officer who is forced to come to Velu Naicker for justice) and 'Nizhalgal' Ravi(Velu Naicker's son) are powerful too.

Manirathnam assembles a top-notch team to assist him. Ilaiyaraja, for his 400th film, delivers a superb soundtrack and a powerful background score(listen to the score in the scene where Kamal and his group rampage a man's house and when the telugu mafia dons stare threateningly at Kamal when he challenges them). Thenpaandi Seemaiyile... is particularly soothing while Nilaa Adhu... is a dappanguthu dancer's delight. Photography is spectacular with its innovative use of lighting in many places(a feature of most Manirathnam movies). The way the camera weaves amidst the houses as Kamal follows the police officer leaves us amazed. There are some effective set pieces like the muddy area where Kamal kills the police officer, with water spurting out from a broken pipe.