- Mani Ratnam A terrific gangster epic in the Godfather style — TIME Magazine, Sep. 16, 1996 Nayagan ( 1987 ) (a.k.a. Nayakan) is a Tamil feature film written and directed by Mani Ratnam . Nayagan means 'The Hero' or 'The Leader' in Tamil.Nayagan has been called " The Godfather "