Navarasa (2021)

Usually while "reviewing" an anthology, I like to talk about each segment separately and then talk about it as a whole. I can't do that with Navarasa, unfortunately: not because it has 9 segments and it would take me a lot of time to write about each at some length, but because I simply do not care about it enough. 

I was so excited to see Revathi and Vijay Sethupathi together in Edhiri (with Prakash Raj as a bonus) but Bejoy Nambiar just had to come and work his magic. I tried really hard to be into the story, but it was as boring and pretentious as an academic lecture by someone who has not set foot outside into the normal world in years. The fact that VJS himself was responsible for the dialogues made me feel even more enraged: just stick to your acting man, you're so good there. As for Nambiar, till now he has ruined one Tabu movie, one Dulquer movie, and one Revathi & VJS movie. When will it stop? When will I finally be free?

The one story (out of 9) that was perfectly written and executed was Inmai, directed by Rathindran R. Prasad (a new name for me) and starring Siddharth and Parvathy. It worked quite wonderfully as a horror short, and left me and a friend scarred. The lead pair had interesting dynamics, and I am glad they didn't go in for a romantic track here. Vishal Bhardwaj's background score is memorably eerie. If anything, I'd recommend people to just watch this, and skip the rest. Another story that worked for me was Arvind Swamy's directorial debut Roudhram: its cinematography and colour palette were a refreshing change, and somehow also made you palpably feel the anger contained within its universe. Speaking of Arvind Swami, he was the biggest saving grace of the anthology: Project Agni, starring him, is the third story that I found bearable and engaging. It was a tad pretentious, but compared to the rest of the trashfest this anthology was, I didn't mind it too much.

As for the one I was looking forward to the most (apart from Edhiri) was GVM's Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru. Despite my previous track record with GVM movies, I was actually pumped for this because Suriya is the one hero who can make even GVM look good, and their previous movies have been quite good. But as always, my confidence was misplaced, and I was left feeling frustrated enough to quit watching movies altogether once it ended. It reminded me of every shitty movie I have ever seen starring one (1) talented person, and since this was short, the shittiness was concentrated very tightly. I hated how the lead pair had absolutely zero chemistry, which is literally the ONLY thing that you need in such a cheesy romantic movie. Suriya held the project up with his beautifully broad shoulders, but at what fucking cost?? He deserves a better unapologetically cheesy movie, and as my bestie said, "Free him from GVM's clutches". 

In conclusion, this was a colossal waste of everyone's time, and I am truly done with anthologies and Netflix original movies now: there is nothing of substance to be found there, ever.