"Nayakan" was released on 21 October 1987, Diwali day. The became a critical and commercial success, running for over 175 days in theatres. Haasan's performance earned him the National Film Award for Best Actor. The film also earned the National Awards for Best Cinematography (P. C. Sreeram) and Best Art Direction (Thota Tharani). It has since featured in many lists of the greatest films ever made, including "TIME" "All-Time 100 Best Films", and CNN-News18's "100 greatest Indian films of all time". The film was remade in Hindi as "Dayavan" (1988).