Navarasa  - Powerful emotions breathtakingly filmed

Legendary director Mani Ratnam and Jeyendra have gotten together for 'Navarasa' to help the film industry workers whose livelihoods have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.   Top stars have joined in the magnanimous effort and brought to life the nine emotions of life in the Netflix anthology 'Navarasa'.  

'Ethiri' is directed by Bejoy Nambiar and stars Revathi, Vijay Sethupathi, Ashok Selvan, Vivek Prasanna and Prakash Raj. The story depicts compassion and begins with Vijay Sethupathi entering the household of a teacher played by Revathi and murdering her husband (Prakash Raj).  He then escapes to a village where he is haunted by a manifestation of his victim questioning his actions.  He then goes back to seek forgiveness from the widow but there lies the answer as to who the real killer is and why the life was lost.

'Ethiri' races by as a screenplay riding on a powerful story by Mani Ratnam but the message that it conveys is sure to linger in the minds of the viewer for a long time.  Bejoy Nambiar has hit the bullseye with this short showing very little and forcing the viewer to piece together the story with effective telling

The subtle performances of all three main players Vijay Sethupathi, Revathi and Prakash Raj are a major plus and so are the underplayed technicalities especially Govind Vasantha's unobtrusive background score.  A winner all the way.

Inmai- deals with FEAR and stars Siddharth Parvathy Thiruvothu and Paval Navageethan. Rathindran R Prasad who carries the reputation of a maverick even before any mainstream film release yet has made this deceptively psychological thriller with a scientific twist.

A young man Farooq (Siddarth) visits a wealthy widow Wahida (Parvathy Thiruvothu) and though she is initially attracted to him finds to her utmost shock that he is a supernatural being come to punish her for her past crimes.  What happens next is a pure riveting watch.

Parvathy Thiruvothu is undoubtedly one of the best actresses in Indian cinema and this short gives her yet another chance to underline that.  It is sheer pleasure to watch her expressions when she pleads with the Jinn and argues about her innocence.  The ever-dependable Siddharth who has also produced the episode is in his element as the sinister visitor who wreaks his vengeance.  Its a big question as to which other actor his age can carry off a college youth without a fuss.  Ammu Abhirami as the younger Waheeda is a revelation while the rest of the cast are adequate.

'Inmai' is an engaging watch with a twist with excellent performances accentuated by the Rumi poems and the soul-stirring music by Vishal Bharadwaj.

Navarasa  Project Agni: Aravind Swamy, Prasanna and Karthik Naren
 
'Project Agni' is directed by Karthik Naren stars Arvind Swami & Prasanna in the lead roles. This episode represents the rasa wonder (Abdutha) and the story opens with an independent scientist calling his friend from ISRO to personally demonstrate his dangerous findings. We can see Poorna playing Aravind's wife who is only seen in glimpses of his subconscious.  

The plot progresses surprisingly well for an episode with just two characters having a scientific conversation. Project Agni's screenplay follows a slow burn pattern which proceeds slowly but ends with a bang. Though, the creator could have avoided minor plotholes. Aravind Swamy and Prasanna made sure that they wonder us with their performances. 

Karthik Naren has tried to comprise many complex and innovative scientific theories into a single idea. The twist at the climax will work well although it highly resembles the twist in Karthik’s debut work Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru. 'Project Agni' is a mystery sci-fi that follows an unexplored plot in Kollywood which is not everyone's cup of tea but will sure blow the minds of the audience who are into the genre.

Navarasa review - Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru

The wait is over. Netflix's anthology film Navarasa is finally out. The film traces the nine distinct human emotions and first comes Love. Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru is a short-lived love story of two musicians Kamal and Nethra. The movie begins with the word attraction and ends with love. Kamal - a two Grammy award winner narrates the story of his second love at the age of 32 with a 22 years old girl Nethra to the London audience. The instant feeling of connection between them steals the show as Kamal is overwhelmed by the similarities with her and his mother. The one-hour episode is filled with music romance and ends with a reality check.

Suriya as Kamal brings back Surya from Varanam Aayiram to life. We can't believe Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru is made almost a decade after Varanam Aayiram. Suriya's eyes speak a million words just as Nethra feels. The scenes where he plays his instruments is a must-watch. On the other hand, Prayaga Martin has lived as Nethra with her unique style and romantic eyes. Songs on the other hand definitely penetrate our hearts and make us live the love.

It's Gautham Menon's film and there is no lack of love. The references he uses from his previous films reminds us instantly of those films and take us on a roller coaster ride. The idea of bringing out the beauty of Adyar is appreciable. The close up frames of instruments truly excite us. Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru speaks just about the moments we cherish in love. The final touch in Gautham's voice makes us delighted and completes the whole film in just two sentences.

On the whole, it is a decent love story that we can all relate to. The vintage GVM is back with his own essence of portraying love in a unique yet natural way. though the film seems slow the fast love between Kamal and Nethra is worth the watch. Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru will make your heart feel the tremors.

Summer of 92 based on a true story deals with laughter and is directed by Priyadarshan with Yogi Babu and Ramya Nambesan playing the leads.  Yogi Babu plays a famous comedy film comedy actor Veluswamy (Yogi Babu) who returns to his village school as a chief guest and reminiscences about his days as a student.

Yogi Babu delivers the laughs with his one-liners relating on the mic how fate played cruel games on him putting him at loggerheads with his teachers resulting in poor marks.  Kudos to the selection of the young actor with a strong resemblance to Yogi Babu.  Ramya Nambesan in a de-glam role shines as the school teacher in both the young and the old getups.   Arul Doss, Nedumudi Venu, Y Gee Mahendran, and finally the dog King provide the light humor which drives the story as a whole..

This light watch, based on the life of legendary comedy actor Innocent passes muster.

Navarasa  : Payasam

Payasam a short 33 minutes episode in Navarsa speaks about a father's disgust towards life that is unfair towards his daughter and his incapability to bring back the lost colours in her life. The film is set in the year 1965 and revolves around a discontented villager who spills out his insecurity in a wedding ceremony.

Delhi Ganesh as an incapable and jealous old man has lived as the character. No other actor could have pulled out the role more accurate. Though a hallucination of her husband Rohini who guides him in a good way is the wife everyone desires. She balances the emptiness in his life and also his character. Aditi Balan as a widowed daughter of Delhi Ganesh has done what was asked of her. Though we feel that she was used less just her expression of disgust speaks it all.

Cinematography on the other side is just wow. The locations and settings go hand in hand and the frames are more accurate and neat. Director Vasanth's skill to compress the beauty and tradition of  Kumbakonam injust 30 minutes should be applauded. His success in this film is getting audiences to feel a villain's pathetic mindset. To conclude Payasam is a story that neatly portrays the darker side of every man which he wishes to hide but eventually comes out.

Navarasa : Peace 

Depicting the rasa Shantha(peace), 'Peace' is a tale of an LTTE soldier who is on the mission to rescue a life that is trapped in between the battlegrounds. Directed by Karthik Naren, Peace features Gautham Vasudev Menon, Bobby Simha, Sananth, and Master Tarun in the lead roles. 

Peace opens with 3 LTTE soldiers working to secure their battle frontline. The group encounters a little boy who tries to cross the frontline to rescue his sibling 'Vellayan'. The LTTE soldiers stop the kid and one of the soldiers carries on the rescue mission. The tension-filled rescue mission is the theme of this segment. But the ending leaves us with a heavy heart. Director Karthik Subburaj took Srilankan War as the situation and handled it in a very mature way. 

Bobby Simha is as sharp as a sword in the role of Nilavan. The actor nailed the lengthy single shots. And Karthik Subburaj has staged the single shots really well and also they were shot brilliantly by Shreyas Krishna. The episode beautifully captures the tension of the situation and hits us with a bittersweet ending. Santhosh Narayanan works further to trigger our emotions. Also, the dialogue writer deserves a special mention. Peace is a winner by all means which deserves to be watched by everyone.

Navarasa : Thunintha Pin

Thunintha Pin is a story about Valor. Vetri is a newbie in the special task force whose guts and courage is tested while facing an ambush in the forest area. As he shoots the head of the so-called Naxalites( who calls himself comrade) he is tasked with transporting him to the headquarters. What happens next is the story of Thunintha Pin.

The film starts with pregnant Muthulakshmi (Anjali) praying for the return of her husband Vetri (Atharva) who went missing during an ambush in the forest fields. The next scene comes as a flashback where the special task force soldiers are fighting the Naxalites. As their head is caught he is taken to the headquarters for enquiry by Vetri a newcomer to the task force. The real problem arises in Vetri's life when the comrade escapes.

Kishore as the head of a group of people who dreams of their own land has done a great job as always. Anjali as a loving wife who waits for the arrival of her missing husband has given her hundred per cent to merge herself to the character. The determination to find her husband can be seen in her eyes. Atharva has done his part to his best as a scared officer to a person who runs to rectify his mistake. Apart from minor plotholes, the film 30 minutes episode of Navarasa is a decent binge watch.  Director Sarjun's attempt to treat his fans with a fresh yet interesting script has not failed.

Navarasa : Roudhram 

'Roudhram' is the episode of rasa Anger directed by Aravind Swamy. The story follows the lives of a teenage boy Arul and a police inspector Anbukkarasi. The segment features actors Riythvika, Sree Raam, Abhinayashree, Ramesh Thilak, Geetha Kailasam in the lead roles. The plot opens with Arul trying to kill a money lender and ending up in remand. Meanwhile, an angry lady cop is investigating the serious case. The reason behind the murder fills up the remaining part of the episode. 

Roudhram proceeds slowly by revealing Arul's motive behind the murder attempt and leaves us with Anbukkarasi's regret at the end. The episode portrays the regretful outcomes of sudden anger. Every one of the cast has done their part very well. Aravind Swamy proves that he is not only a talented actor but also a great filmmaker. He has stiched the emotions and plot in a super flow. 

Santhosh Sivan's Visuals and A.R. Rahman's music score has literally taken us inside the story. The characters were so natural and lively. The colours, the atmosphere, and the scene staging were so true to the landscape. Dialogues by Madhan Karky and Selva should also be applauded. Roudhram is worth the binge-watch owing to the hard-hitting message that it leaves with us.