{ "id": "epfjj97mrf", "slug": "nandha", "title": "Nandha (நந்தா)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema", 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"India · 2001 to 2020: Tamil films of the early 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.tamil-films-of-the-2000s.tamil-films-of-the-early-2000s", "path": [ { "id": "geo.ind", "label": "India", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001", "label": "India · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema", "label": "Indian films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.tamil-films-of-the-2000s", "label": "Tamil films of the 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.tamil-films-of-the-2000s" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.tamil-films-of-the-2000s.tamil-films-of-the-early-2000s", "label": "Tamil films of the early 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.tamil-films-of-the-2000s.tamil-films-of-the-early-2000s" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Nandha is a 2001 Tamil action drama film written and directed by Bala, his second film after Sethu, starring Suriya in the title role alongside Laila, Rajkiran, and Karunas in his screen debut.", "snippet": "Nandha is a 2001 Tamil action drama film written and directed by Bala, his second film after Sethu, starring Suriya in the title role alongside Laila, Rajkiran, and Karunas in his screen debut.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.tamil-films-of-the-2000s.tamil-films-of-the-early-2000s", "markdown": "# Nandha (நந்தா)\n\n**Nandha** (நந்தா) is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Bala, starring Suriya in the title role alongside Laila, Rajkiran, Saravanan, Rajashree, and Karunas in his screen debut.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375997/) • [2](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Nandha?hl=en_US&id=AC7FC96CD422CF68MV) It was Bala's second film after his 1999 debut *Sethu*, and it marked the first collaboration between Bala and Suriya.[3](https://tamil.asianetnews.com/gallery/cinema/do-you-know-not-suriya-first-choice-in-nandha-movie-mma-sppi7s) • [4](https://www.tv9tamilnews.com/entertainment/suriya-talks-about-the-lessons-he-learned-from-balas-direction-during-the-transformation-for-nandha-30198.html)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | 14 November 2001 (India), Tamil language[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375997/) |\n| Director and writer | Bala, his second film after *Sethu* (1999)[3](https://tamil.asianetnews.com/gallery/cinema/do-you-know-not-suriya-first-choice-in-nandha-movie-mma-sppi7s) |\n| Lead cast | Suriya (Nandha), Laila (Kalyani), Rajkiran (Periyavar), Karunas (\"Lodukku\" Pandi, debut role)[5](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/nandha) • [2](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Nandha?hl=en_US&id=AC7FC96CD422CF68MV) |\n| Music and crew | Yuvan Shankar Raja (music), R. Rathnavelu (cinematography), Suresh Urs (editing)[6](https://bstudios.co.in/nanada2001/) |\n| Producers | Ganesh Raghu, Karthik Radhakrishnan, Venky Narayanan, and Shrimathi S. Gopalan of Aparajeeth Films, Houston-based ERP software professionals making their first film[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Technocrats-hit-it-big-in-filmdom-with-Nandhaa/articleshow/428699680.cms) |\n| Box office | Estimated take of Rs 22.5 million (Rs 2.25 crore); the film ultimately cost Rs 57.5 million (Rs 5.75 crore)[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Technocrats-hit-it-big-in-filmdom-with-Nandhaa/articleshow/428699680.cms) |\n| Major awards | Tamil Nadu State Awards: Best Film Special Prize, Best Actor (Suriya), Best Cinematographer (R. Rathnavelu), Best Supporting Actor (Rajkiran)[6](https://bstudios.co.in/nanada2001/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story\n\nThe film follows Nandha, who as a boy kills his father in the confusion that follows when his mother discovers her husband's philandering, and is sent to a juvenile home, leaving behind his deaf and mute mother and baby sister.[8](https://www.rediff.com/entertai/2001/dec/06nandha.htm) Released as a young man, he finds that his mother wants nothing to do with him.[8](https://www.rediff.com/entertai/2001/dec/06nandha.htm) After a fight at the local college brings him to the attention of the local don Periyavar (Rajkiran), the don takes him under his wing.[8](https://www.rediff.com/entertai/2001/dec/06nandha.htm) The story turns when a boatload of refugees from Sri Lanka arrives in [Rameswaram](https://www.edgepedia.org/rameswaram), Tamil Nadu, where the story is set; Periyavar shelters them, and Kalyani (Laila), one of the refugee girls, falls in love with Nandha.[8](https://www.rediff.com/entertai/2001/dec/06nandha.htm) After Periyavar's death, Nandha goes berserk, leading to a bleak climax that the Rediff reviewer identified as the likely reason audiences did not take to the film.[8](https://www.rediff.com/entertai/2001/dec/06nandha.htm)\n\nBala said in an interview that the story was written backward from its climax, which was influenced by an event in the climax of the Malayalam film *Thaniyavarthanam* starring [Mammootty](https://www.edgepedia.org/mammootty).[9](https://tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%A8%E0%AE%A8%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BE_%28%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D%29)\n\n## Production and casting\n\n**A change of lead actor.** The role of Nandha was written for [Ajith Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/ajith-kumar), and pooja posters and birthday greeting posters for Ajith had already appeared in newspapers before production problems halted the shoot; after Ajith withdrew, the film restarted with Suriya in the lead.[3](https://tamil.asianetnews.com/gallery/cinema/do-you-know-not-suriya-first-choice-in-nandha-movie-mma-sppi7s) • [10](https://tamil.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-ta/suriya-announces-his-next-with-national-award-winning-director.html) Suriya later said he worked on the film for about a year and a half and transformed himself entirely for the character, learning during the process that playing a role is more than wearing different clothes.[4](https://www.tv9tamilnews.com/entertainment/suriya-talks-about-the-lessons-he-learned-from-balas-direction-during-the-transformation-for-nandha-30198.html) He has also recounted an embarrassing on-set moment: asked to act smoking a cigarette in a rooftop scene, he did not know how, hesitated through five or six takes, and afterward practiced by lighting roughly 300 matchsticks to learn how to hold a cigarette, a skill he says served him through later roles including Rolex in *Vikram*.[11](https://tamil.indianexpress.com/entertainment/actor-surya-shares-his-experience-in-nandha-movie-9506250)\n\n**First-time producers.** The film was produced by four Houston-based information technology professionals who ran ERP firm Information Technology Architects Inc.; for Ganesh Raghu, Venky Narayanan, Karthik Radhakrishnan, and Shrimathi S. Gopalan it was a first step into filmmaking, and Narayanan invested more than 2,000 hours over nine months as an assistant director.[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Technocrats-hit-it-big-in-filmdom-with-Nandhaa/articleshow/428699680.cms) The film also marked the debut of comedian Karunas, who played \"Lodukku\" Pandi.[2](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Nandha?hl=en_US&id=AC7FC96CD422CF68MV)\n\n## Reception and box office\n\nThe film released on 14 November 2001, over the Diwali window, and drew critical praise; the Times of India described it as the release \"drawing raves\" among that season's Tamil films.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375997/) • [7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Technocrats-hit-it-big-in-filmdom-with-Nandhaa/articleshow/428699680.cms) Producer Ganesh Raghu reported that the estimated take was Rs 22.5 million (Rs 2.25 crore) but the film ended up consuming Rs 57.5 million (Rs 5.75 crore), a result he framed as the newcomers having \"won against the big guys\".[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Technocrats-hit-it-big-in-filmdom-with-Nandhaa/articleshow/428699680.cms) A later retrospective in Dinamalar called the film the one that gave life to Suriya, who had long struggled for recognition in cinema.[12](https://lr-cinema.dinamalar.com/marakka-mudiyuma/93965/old-movies/Marakkamudiyuma---Nandha.htm) The film won wide critical acclaim in India and in Sri Lanka for its sympathetic view of Sri Lankan refugees.[6](https://bstudios.co.in/nanada2001/)\n\nReported runtimes differ across databases: [Google Play](https://www.edgepedia.org/google-play) lists 125 minutes, IMDb 165 minutes, and [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) 180 minutes.[2](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Nandha?hl=en_US&id=AC7FC96CD422CF68MV) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375997/) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/nandha)\n\n## Awards\n\nThe film collected state and press awards for Bala, Suriya, and the crew:[6](https://bstudios.co.in/nanada2001/)\n\n- **Tamil Nadu State Awards (2001)**: Best Film Special Prize; Best Actor in Lead Role, Suriya; Best [Cinematographer](https://www.edgepedia.org/cinematographer), R. Rathnavelu; Best Actor in Supporting Role, Rajkiran.[6](https://bstudios.co.in/nanada2001/)\n- **49th Filmfare Awards (2002)**: Best Tamil Actress, Laila; Best Cinematographer, R. Rathnavelu; Bala was nominated for Best Director.[6](https://bstudios.co.in/nanada2001/)\n- **22nd Cinema Express Awards (2002)**: Best Director, Bala; Best Popular Actor, Suriya; Best Lyricist, Thamarai.[6](https://bstudios.co.in/nanada2001/)\n- **51st Airtel Film Fans Awards (2001)**: Best Director, Bala; and the Dinakaran Awards (2003) also named Bala Best Director.[6](https://bstudios.co.in/nanada2001/)\n\n## Legacy\n\n*Nandha* is widely treated as the turning point of Suriya's career. A Dinamalar retrospective wrote that after *Nandha*, directors began seeking Suriya out, and the Dinakaran trade paper's anniversary piece listed it among the roles that defined his 25-year career.[12](https://lr-cinema.dinamalar.com/marakka-mudiyuma/93965/old-movies/Marakkamudiyuma---Nandha.htm) • [13](https://l-cinema.dinamalar.com/tamil-news/107741/cinema/Kollywood/Suriya-completed-25-years-in-cinema.htm) In scholarship on contemporary [Tamil cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-cinema), the film is cited as an early instance of Bala \"re-writing the Tamil hero\" with deviant, tragic protagonists, a trend later extended by films such as *Pithamagan* (2003) and *Naan Kadavul* (2009).[14](https://www.cssscal.org/pdf/publication/Tamil_Cinema_in_21st_Century.pdf) A Mint profile placed *Nandha* within the rural realist idiom that Tamil cinema entered in the late 1990s, describing it as the story of a child who kills his father and fails to assimilate into society after his release from prison.[15](https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/vgzhqaUsAy15m0jEccad1M/Film--Bleak-house.html)\n\nThe film was later dubbed into Telugu as *Bala Surya*, released in July 2011, and it remains available on streaming services in India, including Sun Nxt.[16](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/movie-details/news-interviews/suriyas-nandha-to-be-dubbed-in-telugu/articleshow/8936103.cms) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/nandha)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Nandha (2001), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375997/)\n2. [Nandha, Movies on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Nandha?hl=en_US&id=AC7FC96CD422CF68MV)\n3. [Not Suriya First Choice in Nandha, Asianet News Tamil](https://tamil.asianetnews.com/gallery/cinema/do-you-know-not-suriya-first-choice-in-nandha-movie-mma-sppi7s)\n4. [Suriya talks about the lessons he learned from Bala's direction during the transformation for Nandha, TV9 Tamil](https://www.tv9tamilnews.com/entertainment/suriya-talks-about-the-lessons-he-learned-from-balas-direction-during-the-transformation-for-nandha-30198.html)\n5. [Nandha streaming: where to watch movie online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/nandha)\n6. [NANDHA (2001), B Studios](https://bstudios.co.in/nanada2001/)\n7. [Technocrats hit it big in filmdom with Nandhaa, The Times of India (24 November 2001)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Technocrats-hit-it-big-in-filmdom-with-Nandhaa/articleshow/428699680.cms)\n8. [The Rediff Review: Nandha (6 December 2001)](https://www.rediff.com/entertai/2001/dec/06nandha.htm)\n9. [நந்தா (திரைப்படம்), தமிழர்விக்கி](https://tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%A8%E0%AE%A8%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BE_%28%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D%29)\n10. [Suriya announces his NEXT with National-Award winning DIRECTOR, Behindwoods](https://tamil.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-ta/suriya-announces-his-next-with-national-award-winning-director.html)\n11. [சிகரெட் பிடிக்க தெரியாது... 300 தீக்குச்சி பற்ற வைத்து கத்துக்கிட்டேன்: சூர்யா த்ரோபேக், Indian Express Tamil](https://tamil.indianexpress.com/entertainment/actor-surya-shares-his-experience-in-nandha-movie-9506250)\n12. [மறக்க முடியுமா? - நந்தா, Dinamalar](https://lr-cinema.dinamalar.com/marakka-mudiyuma/93965/old-movies/Marakkamudiyuma---Nandha.htm)\n13. [திரையுலகில் 25 வருடங்களை நிறைவு செய்த சூர்யா, Dinamalar Cinema](https://l-cinema.dinamalar.com/tamil-news/107741/cinema/Kollywood/Suriya-completed-25-years-in-cinema.htm)\n14. [Conscripts of cinema: The dangerous and deviant Third Wave, in Tamil Cinema in the Twenty-First Century (Routledge, 2021)](https://www.cssscal.org/pdf/publication/Tamil_Cinema_in_21st_Century.pdf)\n15. [Film | Bleak house, Mint (14 February 2013)](https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/vgzhqaUsAy15m0jEccad1M/Film--Bleak-house.html)\n16. [Suriya's Nandha to be dubbed in Telugu, The Times of India (21 June 2011)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/movie-details/news-interviews/suriyas-nandha-to-be-dubbed-in-telugu/articleshow/8936103.cms)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Tamil films of the 2000s › Tamil films of the early 2000s*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/nandha", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/nandha.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Nandha (நந்தா)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/nandha. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Nandha (நந்தா)](https://www.edgepedia.org/nandha)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/nandha](https://www.edgepedia.org/nandha). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Nandha (நந்தா)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/nandha. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Nandha is a 2001 Tamil action drama film written and directed by Bala, his second film after Sethu, starring Suriya in the title role alongside Laila, Rajkiran, and Karunas in his screen debut." }