Pa. Ranjith mentioned that he had made his latest film Natchathiram Nagargiradhu (2022) without any restrictions or objections, and it was completely his film. When you walk into the theatre, you see he wasn’t lying. It was a film where he held nothing back, and it was beautiful to witness a director express himself with all the freedom in the world.
Natchathiram Nagargiradhu is a movie about society. It is based on a group of theatre artists. Ranjith has put in tremendous effort to sketch each of them, which reflects well on the screen as the characters are as real as they get. So, when I mentioned the movie is about society itself, I was talking about a group of people with different ideologies, orientations, and desires, and yet they all coexist together. Despite their differences, they stick together and create a beautiful work of art. That is the message I believe Ranjith was trying to put across. If people care about each other, they can exist together even if there are conflicts. And the way he did it in Natchathiram Nagargiradhu was precise and heart-warming.
The film starts off with a conflict between two of the lead characters, Rene (Dushara Vijayan) and Iniyan (Kalidas Jayaram), who belong to the same drama troupe. The break up in the very first scene of the film, and after the title rolls, we are gradually introduced to all characters, which sets up for a very stable screenplay.
Arjun (Kalaiyarasan) is a prime example of how, with love and acceptance only, can society progress. Arjun seemed to be the only person who didn’t fit in because of his conservative ideologies. By the end of the first half, he makes a terrible mistake, after which everyone expects him to be thrown out of the group. However, that doesn’t happen. The group agrees to give Arjun a second chance and through this, he realises the flaws in his way of thinking. There is even a dialogue where Sekar (Charles Vinoth) says, “How come someone with such political incorrectness fits into our group?” The answer is that political correctness doesn’t come in a day, and the same is depicted in the movie.
The troupe decides to stage a play with love as the central theme. Every person has their own idea of love and it leads to a series of conversations and arguments. The rest of the movie traces their journey from that point till the final performance. We perceive love from various standpoints. Most believe that love doesn’t see age and love. For a few, love is developed in the heart, for the rest, it begins with physical attraction. Anyone can love whomever they want. The film dismisses the question of ‘Why do they?’ and presents a more important question of ‘Why shouldn’t they?’
Just like every Ranjith movie, this film also discusses caste and the injustice that people are subjected to. It poses a very strong case of why something as universal as love should take precedence over the discriminatory caste system.
Even though Ranjith has the habit of writing strong women characters, like Kumudhavalli in Kabali (2016), Puyal in Kaala (2018), and Mariyamma in Sarpatta Parambarai (2021), this is the first time he has gone with a female protagonist – Rene, a Dalit woman. We get to see the depths of this character and are left marvelling about her. Be it the scene where she talks about assuming the identity of a bold ruthless woman or when speaks about her views on love and politics, Dushara Vijayan excels as Rene.
Natchathiram Nagargiradhu is a movie that compels one to practice empathy. It instils the urge to start a conversation in every person who watches the movie.
Disclaimer: This article has not been written by Film Companion’s editorial team.