Emotions in every human get triggered due to the influence of external or internal sources which awake them and provide a channel to vent them out in various ways which again differs from human to human.
Love, Anger, Fear, Laughter, Wonder, Grief, Courage, Disgust, Peace, and Compassion play an important part in all our lives when dealing with different people and different situations. Navarasa streaming now on Netflix which was presented and produced by Mani Ratnam and Jayendra Panchapakesan is an anthology that explores all the emotions in a human being.
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Edhiri (Compassion)
“If it cannot hold and protect the trees, the soil is useless. If it cannot empathise and care for others, the heart is useless” – Thirukkural-576
The compassion shown by Dheena (Vijay Sethupathi) towards Savithri (Revathy) whose husband Sivaraman (Prakash Raj) gets killed by him is the essence of this short. The story of Mani Ratnam explores the emotions of Dheena who gets questioned by his conscience for the misdeed committed by him which makes him approach Savithri as a penitent for the sin.
Though Revathy and Vijay Sethupathi are in top form, the emotions part fail to make the impression due to lack of depth in the characters as a result Edhiri directed by Bejoy Nambiar disappoints despite the innovative photography by Harshvir Singh Oberoi and superb music composition by Govinda Vasantha.
Rating: 2.5/5
Summer of 92 (Laughter)
The weakest link in the anthology was Priyadarshan’s short featuring Yogi Babu which was a big letdown. Yogi Babu was just confined to narrate the flashback on a stage about how a dog has created havoc in the house of a Brahmin priest throwing the marriage of his daughter who happens to be Yogi’s school teacher out of gear.
Nedumudi Venu and Ramya Nambeesan were just okay in their roles. The misadventures of a dog cannot be a trigger for the emotion called laughter. There should be more than that. Isn’t it?
Rating: 2/5
Project Agni (Wonder)
“Man’s reach exceeds his grasp”.
Time travel of a different nature with a lot of sci-fi stuff like Drift, God Molecular Particle, Anunnaki, etc., and a sneak-peek into the future was the offering by the director Karthik Naren who is a big follower of Christopher Nolan.
Vish (Arvind Swamy) invites his friend Krishna (Prasanna) who works in ISRO to share a secret that can change the whole world and what ensued was something beyond any imagination.
The combination of Arvind Swami and Prasanna looks fresh and the novel concept makes Project Agni a wonderful watch. The background score of Ron Ethan Yohann was another asset to this delectable short film that aptly matches the emotion of wonder.
Rating: 4/5
Payasam (Disgust)
This is the story of a 70+-year-old priest Samanadhu (Delhi Ganesh) set in 1965 who develops hatred towards his nephew Subbarayan (Kumar Natarajan) for being richer and getting his daughter married on a grand scale.
Samanadhu who initially resists attending the marriage backtracks as advised by his young wife Valambal (Rohini). His disgust for Subbarayan goes beyond proportions due to which he does something that was heinous enough in the marriage to satiate his envy.
The story by T. Janakiraman was a true reflection of present-day society that reflects jealousy, envy, and backstabbing that are prevalent even today among closest family members. Though it might have not portrayed the theme of the short, disgust in its fullest form, the director Vasanth S Sai has brought the common emotion of animosity between people into the foreground with superb storytelling.
The song ‘Kannoonjal’ rendered by Sudha Raghunathan and composed by Justin Prabhakaran along with the vintage background score added more quirkiness to the narrative.
The photography by Sathyan Sooriyan along with wonderful production designing reflecting the ambiance of marriage during 1965 has turned Payasam into a delicious serving.
Rating: 3.5/5
Peace
An LTTE bunker in the frontline battle area was the backdrop for this Karthik Subbaraj’s film which was the shortest among all with just 28 minutes duration. Bobby Simha, Gautam Vasudev Menon, Sananth, and Tharun play key characters in Peace.
The desperate attempt by Nilava (Bobby Simha) whose desire to make peace with the enemy who only knows the language of bullets ends up in a tragedy was the crux of the story which was handled very well by Karthik Subbaraj conveying the message that peace doesn’t exist amid hatred and hostility in a befitting manner.
The sound department handled by Dinesh Subbarayan and Kunal Rajan, art by T Santanam, Shreyaas Krishna’s visuals, and Santhosh Narayanan’s BGM were the main takeaways.
Rating: 3/5
Roudhram (Anger)
Arvind Swami’s maiden directorial venture was a pure delight to watch. Santhosh Sivan’s breathtaking photography and A.R. Rahman’s excellent soundtrack made this short film a real spectacle that was aesthetically appealing.
The story of revenge by a dream big youngster who turns into a murderer with a brilliant twist, in the end, was effectively presented by Arvind Swami.
The performances by Sreeraam, Rhythvika, Abinaya Sri, and Geetha Kailasam in key roles were top-notch adding more fervour to the narrative that showcased the emotion of anger brilliantly.
Rating: 4/5
Inmai (Fear)
“What is Fear? Non acceptance of uncertainty” – Rumi
Vishal Bharadwaj’s musical score was the main feature of this Rathindran S Prasad’s short flick Inmai starring Siddharth and Parvathy Thiruvothu. It’s the past that haunts and the blood on the hands cannot be wiped off as simply as that and it turns out to be the waterloo for the hapless Waheeda (Parvathy Thiruvothu).
Siddharth as the avenging youngster (Farooq) who instills fear in Waheeda was amazing to watch.
The poetic touch of Jalal Ud-Din Rumi and Ilango Adigal (Silappatikaram) have given extra edge to the narrative and the compositions of Vishal Bharadwaj stand apart.
Rating: 4/5
Thunintha Pin (Courage)
A new police recruit Vetri (Atharvaa) gets challenged in the form of wounded Naxalite leader Comrade (Kishore) in his first major operation. How he accomplishes his task with courage is the main story of this short.
Atharvaa performs well while Anjali in the brief role of Muthulakshmi who untiringly waits for her husband Vetri proves a point or two about her courage too in this context.
Written by Mani Ratnam and directed by Sarjun K M, Thunintha Pin was bang on target by convincingly presenting two aspects of courage effectively on the screen.
Rating: 3.5/5
Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru (Love)
Suriya and Prayaga Rose Martin feature in this Gautham Vasudev Menon’s musical drama about love. Love is inexpressible which makes it the unique emotion among all others. Kamal (Suriya) whose chance meeting with Nethra (Prayaga) triggers love between them as they share many common feelings and interests.
Apart from the brilliant lead pair, it’s Karthik, the music director who takes the front seat with those wonderful numbers which need special mention. All the songs ‘Alayalayaaga’, ‘Aval Parandu Ponaaley’, ‘Athirutha’, ‘Naanum’, ‘Thooriga’, and ‘Darling’ (sung with Krishna K) composed and sung soulfully by him will tug the strings of the heart.
Though the content or presentation was not at its best, the eye-catching photography by ace cinematographer P.C. Sreeram, Suriya’s magnificent screen presence and Karthik’s music made Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru a treat to watch.
Rating: 3/5
Final Verdict
The technical brilliance that was evident in every short film and the presence of many talented actors directed by some of the best storytellers in Tamil are the main features of Navarasa.
Though the stories and thematic aspects are not on a higher side as its not easy to highlight a single emotion without bringing into the frame the other feelings that always surround a single human emotion, they are worth a watch.
Along with fear, one gets courage, and similarly the compassion gels with love making the single emotion talk on the screen is a difficult preposition and needs great craftsmanship.
Nevertheless, Navarasa was a sincere effort and all the people who were involved in this project need to be congratulated and supported in view of their contributions towards a noble cause.
Mani Ratnam and Jayendra Panchapakesan have achieved the success they deserved irrespective of ratings or reviews for their magnanimous effort.
