Natchathiram Nagargiradhu

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.

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.

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.!

I really wanted to love this movie, but unfortunately it is a bit too messy and meanders (especially the first half) a bit too much for me to like it.

This is a bold attempt and social commentary and message(s) ( there is far too many and only 1 or may be 2 gets proper resolution or justice - all others just gets thrown around )

I think the basic problem was that the movie was like a druggie rapping - it was raw, real and mostly hitting out some hard-hitting truth - but lacks cohesion, resolution and completeness !

The acting is largely good, music is pretty decent and script is good as well.

Had this been edited a bit more crispier and some unwanted social commentary removed (those the core of the movie is not addressing ) it would have been a compelling watch.

RATED 9/10 Language: Tamil Source: Nil RECOMMENDED

From the beginning to end the movie is not deviated from the core subject. No extra scenes, sentiments and comedies. These are are very much positive points to the movie at the same time sidelines the movie into artistic one rather than entertaining one.

This is pure Art-Cult-Brave movie and must watch for every cinema lovers. The first half looks filled with more conversations and bit over done, might be I got this feeling because of all scenes shot in single location. The second half is bit breezy. The Movie is point blank at the same time it was funny in places.

The biggest strength of this movie is the dialogs. There is some hidden gem shots like "door with light rays on Buddha painting and the person sitting near the wild cat in climax" The climax fight is bit hurried wind-up but I liked this one. The "beach meet" after climax fight is cherry on top scene.

Must watch for everyone, especially who want to self analyse the love life...