G.D.N. (2026), an inspiring business story

Madhavan stars as G.D. Naidu, the famous inventor and industrialist from Coimbatore. While the real personality appears to have evoked mixed opinions, the film is inspiring and engaging. It moves briskly and keeps you thoroughly entertained with a good cast and crew. Mangoidiots gives it a Ripe.

The film starts in the 1980s, years after G.D. Naidu’s death. The scene is at a Tamil Nadu State Textbook Society committee meeting, where members are debating whether to include a man with a chequered past in the curriculum. One of the members presents a new biography of G.D. Naidu, which she claims shows his true side, as a patriot, a great visionary and an honest taxpayer. The rest of the screenplay unfolds the story of G.D. Naidu.

I get a feeling that there would be a lot to cover about a man who did so many things in so many fields. So, director Krishnakumar Ramakumar has smartly chosen to show the key moments of his enterprising journey. The film also focuses on his friction, first with the colonial British government and later with the governing establishment of independent India. This gives the screenplay clearly identified good and bad sides, and makes for an entertaining film.

The lead actors, including Madhavan, Sathyaraj, Jayaram, Priyamani, Dushara Vijayan and Karunakaran, have done their roles well. The background score by Govind Vasantha suits the film well.

As a screenplay, there are quite a few gaps. For example, we are not convinced about why Chellammal, G.D. Naidu’s first wife, leaves him. We also do not get a strong enough explanation for why the British go after a then-small entrepreneur. I suppose the reason was his attempt to develop indigenous manufacturing, but the film could have explained this better.

Similarly, we do not get to see enough of the suspected interference from New Delhi in suppressing the success of a South Indian entrepreneur. G.D. Naidu’s association with the Nazis is also not clearly explored. These are interesting aspects of his life, and the film leaves us wanting more context.

Overall, this is a movie worth seeing to know more about a man who is long forgotten outside Coimbatore, and perhaps even in much of Tamil Nadu. G.D. Naidu’s life is an engaging business and innovation story from a bygone era. The film may not answer every question, but it does make you curious to learn more about the man.