# Nandha (நந்தா)
**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)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 14 November 2001 (India), Tamil language[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375997/) |
| 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) |
| 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) |
| Music and crew | Yuvan Shankar Raja (music), R. Rathnavelu (cinematography), Suresh Urs (editing)[6](https://bstudios.co.in/nanada2001/) |
| 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) |
| 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) |
| 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/) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The 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)
Bala 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)
## Production and casting
**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)
**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)
## Reception and box office
The 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/)
Reported 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)
## Awards
The film collected state and press awards for Bala, Suriya, and the crew:[6](https://bstudios.co.in/nanada2001/)
- **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/)
- **49th Filmfare Awards (2002)**: Best Tamil Actress, Laila; Best Cinematographer, R. Rathnavelu; Bala was nominated for Best Director.[6](https://bstudios.co.in/nanada2001/)
- **22nd Cinema Express Awards (2002)**: Best Director, Bala; Best Popular Actor, Suriya; Best Lyricist, Thamarai.[6](https://bstudios.co.in/nanada2001/)
- **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/)
## Legacy
*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)
The 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)
## References
1. [Nandha (2001), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375997/)
2. [Nandha, Movies on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Nandha?hl=en_US&id=AC7FC96CD422CF68MV)
3. [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)
4. [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)
5. [Nandha streaming: where to watch movie online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/nandha)
6. [NANDHA (2001), B Studios](https://bstudios.co.in/nanada2001/)
7. [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)
8. [The Rediff Review: Nandha (6 December 2001)](https://www.rediff.com/entertai/2001/dec/06nandha.htm)
9. [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)
10. [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)
11. [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)
12. [மறக்க முடியுமா? - நந்தா, Dinamalar](https://lr-cinema.dinamalar.com/marakka-mudiyuma/93965/old-movies/Marakkamudiyuma---Nandha.htm)
13. [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)
14. [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)
15. [Film | Bleak house, Mint (14 February 2013)](https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/vgzhqaUsAy15m0jEccad1M/Film--Bleak-house.html)
16. [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)
---
*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*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license