P.Vasu, who achieved stupendous box-office success with Chinna Thambi, has always been associated with strong emotions and sentiments. Relationships, especially between a mother and son, occupy a pivotal role in his movies and even crime thrillers like Malabaar Police turned into mushy, sentiment-laden trips under his hand. But comedy finds him on better ground. Though Satyaraj's disguise in Nadigan is based on him finding the money needed for his mother's operation, sentiments are pushed aside in favor of laughs and this makes the movie one of the more enjoyable offerings from P.Vasu's stable.

Raja(Satyaraj) is in dire need of money for an operation needed for his ailing mother. While travelling, his suitcase gets mixed up with that of a music teacher('Venniraadai' Moorthy), who is on his way to Island estate. Availing himself of the opportunity(and the introductory letter), Raja turns himself into a 55 year old music teacher Devaraj and proceeds to the estate. Island estate is ruled with an iron hand by an old woman(Manorama). But Devaraj's behavior softens her and makes her dream of living a life with him while Raja, in his original form, romances with her granddaughter Geetha(Kushboo). Meanwhile, a video tape that incriminates a rich businessman for killing his friend has found its way into Geetha's handbag and his henchmen are also after her.

Though the movie starts off looking like a crime thriller, it quickly turns into a comedy. And considering the amateurish way the few scenes concerned with the video tape are handled, this is definitely a good thing. The difference in the way Moorthy pronounces the word "island" is used cleverly to resolve the problem of his finding the estate too quickly. His questions, in different languages, to determine the location of the estate are very funny. Koundamani adds to the fun with his own brand of shouting and dialog delivery. He has quite a few funny lines and his comments during the scene where Satyaraj arrives to see Kushboo in front of Manorama are the funniest.

Any discomfort at the way Satyaraj leads Manorama on, vanishes because the comedy during these sequences is very successful. Manorama's transformation is inherently funny and her giddy, teenager-like behavior in front of him leads to several laughs. The talented comedienne hits all the right notes in her performance. The scene where she visits Kamala Kamesh, Satyaraj's mother, in the hospital is short but hilarious with Kamala Kamesh's incredulous reaction increasing the laughs.

The track with the murder and the video tape is used solely to facilitate the romance between Satyaraj and Kushboo and offer Satyaraj the chance for stunts. But the romance is abrupt and too lightweight and the sparks between Satyaraj and Manorama are much more interesting. The only interesting moment between Satyaraj and Kushboo happens when Satyaraj advises her as the older music teacher and then proceeds to react to that as the lover boy. The stunt sequences are well done with the spots like the library and the dance room with colored lights serving as good locations.

Satyaraj overacts at a few places as the older man with overdone facial expressions. As in several other movies, Koundamani proves to be a good foil to him, being either dominant and subdued as his own situation varies. Kushboo, who was very successful during this time, looks very cute and shows a flair for comedy. As in most movies during that time, there are a few comments on her most famous assets. Ilaiyaraja's soundtrack includes a catchy Devamalligai Poove.... The Aattamaa Paattamaa... song contributes a nice background piece for the scenes where Satyaraj is switching between his disguises.