Navarasa – (Tamil film) Full Review ( by Srirangam Ramesh)

Nine emotions are handled independently in 9 different sequences with a battalion of different artists in each. Sure a good deal to watch for a break. While it helped for a nice weekend, here are some of my observations with appreciation and some deserving ruthless comments.

The K.Balachander style of tight close-up montages in black and white is not a work of art for God’s sake and some old haggard faces scared the shit out of my dog that jumped away from my arms. Worst of all is that these faces most of them looking like a used handkerchief by a corona patient are repeatedly shown in every episode. Better do a fast forward and wrap the crap up.

Episode 1 – Edhiri (Karuna)

Here is a storyline where a man (Vijay Sethupathy) is exasperated with the cheating and provocations made by an officer who he Kills. Then the dead guy’s ghost(Prakash Raj) reads a sermon of morals with the help of P.B. Srinivas’s song after which the murderer runs with remorse to the dead man’s wife to plead for amnesty. That lady gives another sermon of introspective remorse for her vague silence with her husband in protest for 10 years. How absurd is this?

On top of it a disconnect stronger than the connect tried with the Thirukkural 576, which is more about those who do not have love enough to help someone in desperate need.

This director should be tied at 89th meter right before Neeraj with his Javelin stick in Olympics. I had the same feeling while watching this one and my dog never returned to me till I took a break. I’m giving a fail mark like 20/100.

Episode 2 Summer of 92 (Hasya)

This one is Hilarious and I’m not going to give you the one line. Not even ‘ekashara’ or a word. Must see this hilarious one. Remember the humor is only when you have it within. I laughed and my dog loved it.

For comment I should say that ‘Lakshmi teacher’ still has a fresh and clean future, Yogi Babu walked up the stage as a lovely nightmare in the daytime and Nedumudi Venu looks old enough to retire. Y.G.Mahendran should have done Nedumudi’s role. I liked it anyway and would give 60/100.

Episode 3 Project Agni (Adbutha)

This is made totally for the Urban, English-speaking audience and others would see patterns of stars lining up in unwanted constellations. The star cast didn’t disappoint but the subject did. Trying to explain the inexplicable is the easiest way to make the narrator look ridiculously moronic.

I’m afraid, the names Vishnu, Krishna, and Kalki are some irrelevant connects drawn expecting an appreciation but misfired. While all the three are names of ‘His’ manifestation, does the name also implies that Vishnu is on a bad trip where he even loses Laksmi, whereas Krishna is the ignorant one who wasted his time and Kalki is a badass hell-bent on ending the world? There is also the four-letter word used in the conversation for no reason. WTF

God, please save the metaphysical topics on ‘Super consciousness’ from people like Atheists, Scientists, and Alcohol consumers. The topic of silence should never be spoken about.

There is one confession made that looks good. That is ‘Excessive knowledge is a curse’. Ironically this is said by a seemingly ignorant person who is deceived at last. Lol

This episode is a ball of warm, well-rounded, melting bullshit, not worth a second. Negative marks are out of my rule book.

Episode 4 Payasam (Bheebathsam)

This is about burning jealousy. Well shown as a brewing kind of sickness of thought. The 60’s ambiance of a brahminical wedding house background and a narration of history behind Delhi Ganesh’s fever of envy were all shot well. The rasa should have been brought with someone from outside the extended family. This is abusively hitting at large family cohesion as fake which is sad to know.

Delhi Ganesh is a performance pro without doubt but he should have shaved the dirt in his face for such close-ups. Rohini looks too young to be the wife of such a worn-out Delhiji. Kumar Natarajan, his daughter, and his cousins have all done well.

The definition for the ingredients of payasam and Sudha’s song were adding to the content and the ambiance. Kathadi Ramamurthy has no big purpose.

Sitting and watching some deep jealousy is disgusting anyway and that is precisely the rasa to be sampled. A bad rasa yet gets a 35/100. Something like good to see and bad to be.

Episode 5: Shanthi?

This is a specimen of a fine short film. Despite the unattractive Srilankan dialect of Tamil, the ground reality enraptures the mind quickly. Love is beyond race and species but not yet in the vicinity in a war field. But it is there and let’s hope.

My dog was in tears of joyful hope for the humans against all the impending realities. This episode reminds Stephen Spielberg’s movie ‘War Horse’. Well done Subburaj. Take my 85/100.

Episode 6: Raudram

The subject justifies anger first and suffers to undo the justification done for the rage of anger displayed. Hence this line becomes a common story of vengeance.

It was disgusting to see those repercussions on the children and anger is shown as a reality that exists for both momentary solaces and a grieving memory. As a feminist, I found it too difficult to wear the mother’s shoes. Maybe we are instinctively trained to have some entertainment that should warm our soul rather than rip it apart.

This content may deserve to take 50/100. But you would never want to see something like this again.

Episode 7: Inmai (Bhaya)

Here is a confusion. The lady and the man are introduced as very learned people interested in art and Arabic calligraphy with a very western outlook of thoughts and language notes. They discuss the procedures of making tea that evolved as a test to check the quality of porcelain and about other interesting things. An explicit flirting note was brought in to match with the freedom never seen in such a spirited manner considering their status shown. Suddenly their recent history shows them as people from Adirampattnam in their native Tamil dialect which are all tastefully filmed.

But where is the fear? There is neither the fear of guilt nor that of the Gin ( equated to a little devil). The idea of bringing up the ‘rasa’ element is completely lost. A tastefully composed episode failed to deliver what is needed in the theme.

The lady should have been given more to express with those magnetic eyes rather than talk scripts like notes from the Arabian nights. Siddarth is just a fair filler. I wanted to give marks considering the take-off, but the crash-landing effect permits only about 30/100. This episode is a ‘fearless attempt’ at last. -lol

Episode 8: Thunindha Pin ( Veera)

This one is total nonsense in dim light. A lady is expressing courage, confidence, willpower, and tenacity while her armed husband is lurking with fear, expressing compassion to the enemy, displaying trust in him, and ultimately fooling himself.

Nothing interesting about this episode that has taken the audience for granted. This team should go back to school to learn something good enough to show. As declared earlier, negative marks are out of the rule book.

Episode 9 : Guitar Kambi mel Nindru(Sringara)

What a beautiful length of sweet nothings! Music, lyrics and, romance are well blended typically for the ‘sringara rasa’. The inexplicable feel of ‘Lover’s boredom’ has always held strong alongside music and lovely nonsense.

It is hard to shoot one like this except for a ‘hopeless romantic’. Youngsters would have the vicarious joy driving them ‘nuts’ to home.

I would take away 25 marks for the extra verbal script than required, typical of Gautham Menon style who carefully gave a middle figure to a marriage climax goofing it up and saved the romance to eternity. I give a 75/100 and say it is dedication like ‘Julio Iglesias/Willie Nelson’s song ‘To all the girls I loved before..’. -lol

My dog is happily sleeping now.

Good Day.