Nayak Movie Details:
| Original Title | Nayak – The Real Hero |
| Based on | Mudhalvan by S. Shankar |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Genre | Political, Action, Drama |
| Release date | September 7, 2001 |
| Running time | 3hr 7min |
| Certificate | U |
| Starring | Anil Kapoor Rani Mukerji Amrish Puri Paresh Rawal |
| Directed by | S. Shankar |
| Written by | Story & Screenplay: S. Shankar Dialogues: Anurag Kashyap |
| Produced by | A. M. Rathnam |
| Cinematography by | K. V. Anand |
| Edited by | B. Lenin V. T. Vijayan |
| Music by | A. R. Rahman |
| Production Company | Sri Surya Movies |
| Distributor | Movie Magic NH Studioz |
Nayak Movie Cast & Characters:
- Anil Kapoor as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, a TV reporter and later Chief Minister of Maharashtra
- Rani Mukerji as Manjari Ghatge
- Amrish Puri as a corrupt CM of Maharashtra Balraj Chauhan, the main antagonist
- Paresh Rawal as Bansal Shroff
- Johnny Lever as Topi
- Pooja Batra as Laila
- Saurabh Shukla as Pandurang
- Shivaji Satam as Mr. Ghatge
- Raja Krishnamoorthy as Bhim Rao Gaekwad (Voiced by Vikram Gokhale)
- Anupam Shyam as Hemant Mishra
- Razak Khan as Topi’s father-in-law
- Neena Kulkarni as Mrs. Gaekwad
- Rana Jung Bahadur as Kumar Vishal
- Ponnambalam as Ranga (Voiced by Manoj Pandey)
- Ahmed Khan and Sushmita Sen (special appearances in the song “Shakalaka Baby”)
Storyline:
The film follows Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, a television cameraman and, later, television presenter, who accidentally hears and records a conversation between the police and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Balraj Chauhan. While interviewing Chauhan about the issues, Shivaji is challenged to take over the chief minister’s job for a day.
Nayak Movie Budget & Box Office Collection:
| Budget | ₹21 crore |
| Opening Day | ₹8.5 crore (US$100,000) |
| Domestic Collection | ₹18.06 crore |
| International Collection | $530,000 |
| Worldwide Collection | ₹20.56 crore |
About Nayak Movie:
Nayak: The Real Hero is a Hindi political action drama film written and directed by S. Shankar. The film stars Anil Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Amrish Puri, Paresh Rawal, and Johnny Lever. It is a remake of S. Shankar’s 1999 Tamil-language film Mudhalvan,
Produced by A. M. Rathnam under the Sri Surya Movies banner, the film has music composed by A. R. Rahman, cinematography handled by K. V. Anand, and editing by B. Lenin and V. T. Vijayan.
The role of Shivaji was first offered to Aamir Khan, but he wasn’t cast due to a communication gap with Shankar. Shah Rukh Khan was considered next but declined after playing a similar role. Shankar eventually chose Anil Kapoor, initially reluctant but impressed by Kapoor’s discipline and suitability.
Manisha Koirala was to reprise her role from “Mudhalvan” (1999) but was busy with other projects. Karisma Kapoor, Tabu, Raveena Tandon, and Preity Zinta were considered but had date issues. Consequently, Rani Mukerji replaced Koirala.
The film was announced in June 2000 and marked the first Hindi-language directorial venture of Shankar. Filming was done by K. V. Anand, taking place in more than 100 locations across India.
The makers built a huge set of the TV studio of the fictional news channel QTV. More than 700 TVs, cameras, and a huge TV screen were set up to make the set appear real. In the climax when the set is destroyed, each TV and camera was smashed to smithereens.
Nayak was released on September 7, 2001. It opened to mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its storyline, performances (particularly by Anil Kapoor, Amrish Puri, and Paresh Rawal), Shankar’s direction, and the movie’s themes and social message. However, the film was criticized for its lengthy duration, editing, pace, and special effects.
A commercial failure, it grossed ₹205.6 million (US$2.5 million) at the box office against the total production and marketing cost of ₹210 million (US$2.5 million).
