Love and Politics in Natchathiram Nagargiradhu

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 that is 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. 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, who coexist and learn together. Despite their differences, they 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 despite 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. They break up in the very first scene of the film. After the title rolls, we are gradually introduced to all characters, which sets up for a 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 regressive beliefs. 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 fit into our group?” The answer is that political correctness doesn’t come in a day, and the same is depicted through the screenplay.

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 gender or age. For a few, it is developed in the heart, for the rest, it begins with physical attraction. The film dismisses the question of ‘Why do they?’ and presents the 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 portrays why something as universal and widespread 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, Vijayan excels as Rene.

Natchathiram Nagargiradhu is a movie that instils the urge to start a conversation in every person who watches it.

This story was originally published on September 17, 2022.