On Monday, the makers of Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam's Nayakan announced that the film's re-release is scheduled to happen on November 3. The release is planned to commemorate the actor's 69th birthday, which falls on November 7. The re-release will additionally happen in Kerala and Karnataka apart from Tamil Nadu. 

A 1987 film, Nayakan is an epic crime drama which also starred Janagaraj, Saranya Ponvannan, Delhi Ganesh, Nassar, Kartika and Nizhalgal Ravi, among others. The film was the first collaboration between Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam, after which they are collaborating only now, with the upcoming KH234. 

Nayakan bagged three National Awards at the 35th National Film Awards. While Kamal Haasan won Best Actor, PC Sreeram was presented with the award for Best Cinematography, and Thotta Tharani received it for Best Art Direction. The film was also India's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1988 at the 60th Academy Awards; however, it was not shortlisted among the final nominees.

The film's music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, while  B Lenin and V T Vijayan were the editors of the film. Nayakan was backed by Muktha Srinivasan of Muktha Films.