News

Pa. Ranjith has always been known for making caste-sensitive stories that question the status quo, especially from his home state of Tamil Nadu. Even though his last film Natchathiram Nagargiradhu did not grab as many eyeballs for its confusing narrative, his film before that, Sarpatta Parambarai, received critical and commercial acclaim. Pa. Ranjith is back with a historical drama starring Vikram and Parvathy, Thangalaan, which is a story of the men who were taken to Kolar Minefields to extract gold. Still, they face obstacles such as supernatural forces as they begin their work to extract the precious metal.

Spoilers Ahead

Who was Thangalaan?

Thangalaan was a hardworking father who, unlike others in his village, Veppur, owned a piece of land. His family consisted of him, his wife Gangamma, and their four children. Even though he owned land, Thangalaan spoke openly about the current landlords not being the real owners of the farmland,...

CinemaIn ‘Natchathiram Nagargiradhu’, Pa Ranjith has shredded the plot and characters of ‘Minsara Kanavu’ to derive a more assertive narrative about love.It has been one year since Natchathiram Nagargiradhu released in cinemas worldwide. While some have enthusiastically appreciated Pa Ranjith’s attempt at addressing a range of contemporary socio-political topics, others have called it an experiment gone sour. Most commentators, however, agree that this movie saw the filmmaker flexing a novel story-telling muscle to communicate abstract yet progressive ideas. There is one fine detail that most reviewers and critics seem to have missed. Natchathiram Nagargiradhu has not emerged from a blank canvas. Instead, it artfully continues a conversation that was set in motion long ago. In the groundbreaking BBC docu series Ways of Seeing (1972), Marxist art critic John Berger says, “Remember that I am controlling and using for my own purposes the means of reproduction needed for these programmes … As with all programmes,...

Actor Kalidas Jayaram, who has been delivering commendable performances in critically acclaimed films like ‘Vikram’ and ‘Natchathiram Nagargiradhu’ and the web series, ‘Paper Rocket’, is next working on director Balaji Mohan’s breezy romantic entertainer that is now being shot in London.

Balaji Mohan is immensely popular and is best known for his superhit films, ‘Vaayai Moodi Pesavum’, ‘Maari’ and ‘Maari 2 ‘. Amala Paul and Dushara Vijayan are playing the female leads in this movie.

Following the grand success of ‘Natchathiram Nagargiradhu’, both Kalidas and Dushara are sharing screen space again with this film.

Darbuka Siva, who scored the music for ‘Enai Noki Paayum Thota’ and ‘Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee’, is composing music for this film. Actor Kalidas Jayaram said: “It’s a great experience to be working with the vibrant filmmaker Balaji Mohan sir. I have admired his work including short films and his full-length feature movies, especially his love stories.

OpinionWith Rene, Ranjith has reversed the gaze of popular culture’s ‘submissive good girl’ heroine. Played brilliantly by Dushara Vijayan, Rene is self-assured, empathetic, knows her politics and acts on it too.Jyoti NishaTwitterWho gets love in popular culture? I have been thinking about that question for a decade now. Last Friday, I watched a film that surprised me in ways I had never imagined. Pa Ranjith’s latest film, Natchathiram Nagargiradhu, which translates to ‘a star shoots across’, seems to answer all our questions about the idea of contemporary love. Trust me, there is an interpretation for everyone – inter-caste, inter-faith, queer love, inclusivity, sexuality, woman as a category, genderless casteless love. The way Ranjith sees urban Indian society is refreshing, authentic and political. He embodies the power of a conversation into one of the finest scenes in Indian cinema. Theatre director Subeer (Regin Rose) wants to put together a play on love.

Tamil actor Rajinikanth has congratulated director Pa Ranjith for his recently released Tamil film ‘Natchathiram Nagargiradhu’, saying that the film was his best work till date.

Taking to Twitter, Ranjith, who has directed Rajinikanth in ‘Kaala’, wrote: “I am extremely touched by the appreciation from our Superstar Rajinikanth sir, (who), after watching ‘Natchathiram Nagargiradhu’. ‘This is your best work in terms of direction, writing, casting the performers, art, cinematography, music, so far’ are the exact words that he quoted. Thank you sir.”

Rajinikanth wasn’t the only one who complimented Ranjith for the film.

Actress Gayathrie too took to Twitter to shower praise on the film and its director.

She tweeted: “‘Natchathiram Nagargiradhu’ had me laughing, angry, in tears at moments, questioning why things are the way they are! This scene… And just like the movie, you realise, it is through art and artists that you can hope to change one mind at a time!

OpinionIndian cinema has always tried to romanticise the concept of love and paint a rosy picture. Love that is deeply rooted in intersectionality is neither dealt with nor discussed in mainstream cinema, writes the author.Manju Priya KYouTube Director Pa Ranjith’s film Natchathiram Nagargiradhu is a unique, intriguing and uncompromising contemporary love story. It is a new attempt by Ranjith to explore love as a full-fledged theme with underlying complexities. The movie can be viewed at two levels — reel and real story. The real is the love story revolving around Rene, and reel is the enactment of a play on (dis)honour killings titled ‘Love between Wild and Domestic Cat’ (kaattu poonai and naatu poonai). In order to enact the story, the troupe members discuss and come up with a story surrounding love with intricacies of caste and gender. In the process of producing the play, the way these...

Dushara Vijayan, whose role as Rene in Pa Ranjith’s ‘Natchathiram Nagargiradhu’ has come in for a lot of critical acclaim, said that she is proud to have played the part and represented millions who had gone through a lot in their real lives.

The actress, who admits that she has been floored by the love shown to the film and to her character in particular, issued a statement in which she said: “‘She who knows life flows, feels no wear or tear, needs no mending or repair’. Experiencing these words through the girl called ‘Rene’ is an unexplainably beautiful experience.

“As an actor, nothing gives immense pleasure than being engulfed by dreams and desires to experience the symphonic essence of appreciation and acclaim of the audience in theatres. When such ethereal moments become a reality, one finds no words to express them verbally.”

“I’m emotionally frozen in such...

Well known Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap has lauded director Pa Ranjith’s upcoming Tamil film, ‘Natchathiram Nagargiradhu’, saying that this is a film about love and how it needs to survive above all prejudice and hatred.

Taking to Instagram, Kashyap wrote, “Saw Natchathiram Nagargiradhu last night. The uncensored version. This is a film playing inside Pa Ranjith’s head.

“There is an order in his chaotic mind. Where so many of his identities are having conversations and conflicting with each other. They just want to be and in order to be, they have to assert themselves and hold on to their grounds.

“It’s a film about love and how it needs to survive above all prejudice and hatred. Rene in the film imbibes the spirit of Pa Ranjith. This is his most personal work and my favourite Pa Ranjith film.

“He is his most vulnerable and naked in this film.