Nandalala

Nandalala
Directed by	Mysskin
Produced by	K. Karunamoorthy C. Arunpandian
Written by	Mysskin
Based on	Kikujiro by Takeshi Kitano
Starring	Mysskin Snigdha Akolkar Ashwath Ram
Music by	Ilayaraaja
Cinematography	Mahesh Muthuswami
Edited by	Ravi Shankar
Production company	Ayngaran International
Distributed by	Ayngaran International
Release date	26 November 2010 (2010-11-26)
Running time	125 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Nandalala (Tamil: நந்தலாலா ) is a 2010 Tamil independent drama film written and directed by Mysskin. He himself plays the lead role, alongside newcomer Ashwath Ram and Snigdha Akolkar. The film, which is produced by Ayngaran International and features a highly acclaimed musical score by Ilaiyaraaja, is loosely based on the 1999 Japanese film Kikujiro, and partly inspired from Myshkin's life.

The film illustrates the road journey of two people, a mentally challenged adult and an eight-year-old schoolboy, both in search of their respective mothers. Myshkin began developing Nandalala in 2006, penning the scriptment for eight months. Supposed to be filmed, after the release of Myshkin's debut film Chithiram Pesuthadi (2006), the film was shelved since no producer came forward to fund the film, and was launched only in June 2008, after the release of Myshkin's second film Anjathe (2008). It was completed by December 2008, but got stuck in development hell later, with no distributors willing to release the film. Following numerous preview shows and screenings at several film festivals, the film eventually released on 26 November 2010, opening to very positive reviews and garnering critical acclaim.

After Myshkin had completed and released his maiden venture Chithiram Pesuthadi in 2006, he wrote the script for Nandalala for eight months, which was supposed to be his next directorial. A. M. Ratnam was initially to produce the film, for which his son Ravi Krishna was to play the lead role. Despite completing a photo shoot with Ravi Krishna, the film was shelved, since Ratnam opted out, after he incurred heavy losses with his previous productions. Director Saran was subsequently approached by Myshkin to produce the film, but as he wasn't impressed by the storyline and suggested some changes, which Myshkin didn't agree to, he, too, dropped the film. Myshkin decided to postpone the project, since "nobody was interested", and instead wrote a new story and commenced a new project, which itself was a result of Myshkin's anger. Myshkin later revealed, that in spite of demands from the producers, he didn't make any compromises in this film, in contrast to his previous ventures, as Nandhalala was his "dream project".