Natchathiram Nagargirathu

Pa. Ranjith's new movie feels a personal statement to "Naataka Kaadhal" but that is not the movie is all about. The story revolving around a drama troupe at Pondicherry, a group full of people with varied opinions (political or otherwise). As they try to prepare for a play on love, the clash of ideals brings out the differences and the eventual impact on the individuals. If one thinks this is all there is, the third act throws in a terrific surprise elevating the movie.

Rene aka Tamizh being the central character, one of the many characters that are written to mirror the society's harsh reality, is the best written one. The character of Arjun is the one with a better arc as he stands for everything wrong in prejudiced upper caste male with no understanding of political correctness. The narrative that is mostly conversational is effectively merged into the on screen play which stands out for the set design and make up along with the performances, firmly aided by those songs.

I am surprised how i didn't feel the runtime at all and that is solely due to the surprise character entry in the third act, as mysterious the character is, it directly felt like an interaction beyond the screen. The rebels vs the self proclaimed protector for the society, a top notch touch towards the end. To point out the shortcomings, though thr story dwells into genderless love as well, the same sex love stories and the trans couple story gets reduced to dialogues.

For what's a 4-star film in its political ideology (and progressivism), NN felt very anti-climactic to me, and hence, I'm going with 3.5. The whole stretch with Shabeer Kallarackal (though he's a wonderful actor) was bizarrely staged. I get that it was supposed to be bizarre in the first place, but it failed to evoke the right emotion in me when the rest of the film seamlessly managed that.

Pa Ranjith's NN is more of a statement on love than a love story. It asks relevant questions on modern love, answers some of them (subtly and extravagantly), and leaves the rest for audiences to interpret themselves and make room for improvement and inclusion. Dushara Vijayan's performance (as René) is splendid, never holding herself back from expressing exactly how she feels about everything - be it love, music, food, or societal discrimination. Boldly written and performed, René is certainly among my favorite Pa Ranjith protagonists. Kalaiyarasan comes next in line for portraying a biased, pre-conditioned person who turns over a new leaf eventually. His transformation is the one that feels complete.

Kalidas Jayaram and the rest of the ensemble are okayish, relegated to characters that are less memorable. Some LGBTQ representation is added as well, but they serve little in forwarding the film's plot, as the theme of the play the theater group eventually settles on, has little to do with queer love. But it's wonderful to see them in the film nonetheless, especially in those discussions about love (and its politics) early on. Tenma's music is also an essential ingredient that kept me interested all through. The best stretch in the film was the subversion of endogamy in a scene where Kalaiyarasan's character goes home to visit his dying granny.

A pretty bonkers movie completely devoid of Tamil cinema love stories that we have seen so far. This film will have mixed reactions as it is so off the wall that I can't tell this will be appreciated unanimously. Ranjith has delivered something world-class, he is back with a tale that has all the usual themes but deals with twisted love and all kinds of love. I am not a huge fan of P. A. Ranjith as a director but have a liking for projects he is on board as a producer. He has supported new concepts in his Neelam Productions despite the shortcomings in the production. I have followed his stint as a producer and appreciate his ability to pick unique stories, even his recent outings have the stamp of an auteur in the making and you can check out my 'Kuthiraivaal' and 'Seththumaan' review.

This experiment or an attempt by PA Ranjith to tell about Compassion, Love, the political tragedy without being too elitist or kitsch. I never expected it to be this good in such a way it does not look vulgar separating itself from the usual films we have seen in Tamil cinema. The theater setting was a good gambit, it evoked polar emotions as we travel with the characters plunging into screen with surreality. I despise filmmakers self loathing by making a very personal film, it is better if they keep it in a safe locker. Well, Ranjith's film is a personal cinema but doesn't over indulge in Kasthapadra Vada Chennai folks with existential crisis and dealing with errors in the system. In 'Natchathiram Nagargiradhu' it is impossible for Ranjith to let go of the politics as the characters discusses Dalit love. But this remains as a revelation of the characters and hard hitting dialogues. The basic human feelings, fears, banal truth about relationships which is often ignored is spoken out loud as Ranjith shares with the audience part of his inner life. I didn't like the comedy sequences involving Madeline, the French lady as it wasn't needed to push the narrative. But the rest of the characters go a long way from the first minutes of the film to the final credits with the completion of the play, sometimes pleasing to the eye. The Wild cat vs the Domesticated Cat reference was so relevant and deep. And the The I see a glimpse of arthouse influence here especially the works of João Pedro Rodrigues, Marcos Prado, Gaspar Noé, Aly Muritiba and Leos Carax.

Regardless, this is a film that is hard to compare with anything else. But, to be honest, I don't want to compare it. I recommend this to everyone as this film is a celebration love, a daring play on emotions.

Verdict: And, of course, one of the best films of the year.!

Pa. Ranjith's films are always a matter of some political dimensions to discuss. Every film either he directed or produced deals with issues related to Dalit politics and casteism. NN is also about that political spectrum. The subject is something we had already discussed and talked but the execution of the film stands different. The initial scene of the movie projects the entire concept, ie, Love and Caste. The film is built in a new-gen format which means there comes a lot of characters which is alien to the so-called normal society. We can see queer people, a transwoman, and a lesbian couple in the movie which is something a progressive thought. I feel like the theatre group simply symbolizes the future world that everyone intends to come. The theatre group is all set to execute a new play and the master of the group selects love as the subject for the play. Love that connects with the current social scenario. The movie also talks about the issue of honor killing which is so prevalent in society. While the master put forward this subject to everybody in the group all come up with their own views about the subject. That comments from them resemble the attitude of people toward this issue. We can see many types of dimensions that flavored a strong backup to the movie. The film is something a good attempt but not to be considered a brilliant one from Pa. Ranjith.

All my life I have suffered by the society in various scenarios. Being a child whose mom ran away!! I got to understand the dark side of this society at a very young age. Inequality is everywhere, from the drinking glass to job promotions... this movie helped me to understood on how to handle the anger that I built upon myself!!

Rene's laugh is inspiring a lot!! Thanks Ranjith!!

1. Tenma's music is awesome!! But it would have been better to have a different sound for the shooting star. Whole scoring is a beautifully wrapped with the story 2. I'm from Pondicherry... and this is the first movie which actually shows what the culture in this city that I have experienced!!!

3. I can see kalidas really understood the movie but his acting is not enough to register his character in my mind... like Rene, shabeer and Master, Hari !!

4. A guy who was inside the photo(karu arukapata pen) from the drama rehearsal acted really well!!

5. As per baddy's review, This movie is above all these good bad average terms 6. Movie like this will live in Tamil cinema forever.