Can this movie be considered as a comeback to the Lady Super Star?

Just watched the Hotstar release, Nettrikann and here we are reviewing one of the most expected movie of the very only, The Lady Superstar Nayanthara.

Cast - Nayanthara, Ajmal Ameer, Saran, Manikandan and many others

Composer/Re-recording - Girish Gopalakrishnan

Stunt Choreography - Dilip Subarian

Produced by - Vignesh Shivan

Cinematography - RD Rajasekar

Direction Milind Rau

Run time - 2 hours, 25 minutes

Release Date - 13th August, 2021

Before I even start reviewing the movie, let me just acknowledge one thing, which was mentioned by the film crew itself, and that is, this movie "Nettrikann" is an adaptation of the South Korean Movie called "Blind". It was purely inspired by that movie. Even though I haven't watched the original movie, I can say that they haven't pretty much changed any of the scenes to suit the Tamil movie industry, because the trailers of both the movies looked very much alike. 

There's a reason for calling Nayanthara as the Lady Super Star. She chooses her scripts very wisely and her performance level is top notch. But lately, her movie choices hasn't been that great. There are a handful of movies that would be watched countless times, just for her performance (example - Aram, Maya and Naanum Rowdy Thaan). This would be one of the movies which is solely performance oriented, and yeah this could definitely hit the list of one of her best performances.

Getting back to the plot of the movie. Nayanthara, the CBI officer, loses her vision due to retinal damage caused due to an accident and loses her brother on the spot. She lives with the guilt that she is the responsibility for her brother's death. On this sorrowful journey, a serial psychopath crosses path with her. Ajmal, the antagonist tries to abduct her and find pleasure by physically torturing her, but fails due to the smartness of Nayanthara. She files a complaint about the incident as a witness, and so does a Uber delivery boy, whom she confides saying that he resembles her brother. What happens next and what sort of twists awaits her life is what you guys have to watch and see for yourself.

Nayanthara, the lead had done justice to portray the role given to her. Ha ha, her

character name is Durga, which is my name too, so IDK whether I am biased, but I am really convinced with the way she has played along with the script. She never fails to impress her fans by her roles, even if it is a small cameo on screen (like Bigil). Her acting skills as a blind woman, is very much believable, there weren't any cringe moments where it brings suspicious effects to the audience. Most probably, this was one of the movies that I saw of her's where she has worn the least make up, yet she looks very beautiful. Her voice modulation in different circumstances, like when she speaks casually, when she is angry and when she is crying, in fear are all amazing. That is something I look up to in her, being an actress how she carries herself in films as well as out of films too, is something that all the other actress also should follow. Showing your skin on-screen and off-screen ain't going to make you an actress who could long last in the Industry. There were quite a few stunt scenes where she fights against Ajmal and should appreciate her for carrying out stunt to that perfection, also keeping in mind that she shouldn't come out of the character at any cost. She had focus on both in those scenes and those scenes were truly a delight to watch.

The antagonist, Ajmal, a Gynaechologist, also a psychopath serial abductor who suffers from Biastophilic/raptophilia - a paraphilic coercive disorder, which means a person experiences sexual arousal not by physical touch but experiences the same by assaulting a nonconsenting person, a stranger, in this movie, its the girls who aren't married but approached him for abortion due to unplanned pregnancy. For a moment, his dungeon seemed similar to the play room from "Fifty Shades of Grey", I was actually thinking the worst case scenario, but thank god, they didn't show much of the physical torture, but it was sick to see that the women were totally naked 😔 Playing the antagonist is easy as well as hard, especially to play the bad guy who does bad to women would earn a lot of negative impression, but one should have the courage to accept the role and perform it well. It's been so long ever since we saw Ajmal perform in movies, the last movie of his which I watched and was amazed was "KO". He is a potential actor, he could have gone places if only proper chances and scripts were provided, but I feel like, at time Kollywood, yeah, almost all the industries fail to acknowledge good talents, rather moves towards the famed ones. His voice modulation and expressions are of different level, at times, I was terrified for what and all he was doing. But his flashback didn't create much of an impact. That could have been a bit more convincing and terrifying.

Support cast - Manikandan and Saran sure did a great job. Played their roles to the utmost. Manikandan as a police Sub - Inspector made us giggle a few times too. Saran was getting on my nerves for the hatred and sarcasm he threw towards a visually impaired girl, but he quickly changed for the good, which was a bit hard to believe. Another thing to be commended would be the dog. He is extremely adorable and I cried like a baby when he sacrificed his life to save Nayanthara.

Music and re-recording was an absolute thriller to this movie. It wasn't cramped

with songs and music at all places. There was only two songs and at appropriate places and the BGM at certain places were absolutely perfect. His re-recording at places where it was only silence also showcased that silence also has some sort of meaning.

Milind Rau needs to be appreciated when it comes to having this kind of star cast on board for the movie. When he had Nayanthara as the lead itself, he had achieved half the success, but I should say that he could have changed some parts of the movie to keep the audience at the edge of the seat and also to avoid the story being given away too much, as in it was predictable at some parts. If that part had been rectified, then the film would definitely be one amongst the other movies that had created a greater impact. Cinematography, Stunt choreography had done a commendable job. 

After the trailer, I was totally intrigued to watch this movie, Intimidated I'd also say! But did the movie fulfill all the expectation, did it leave myself satisfied? I'd say not entirely though, but it is definitely one time watchable. If you are a Nayan fan, then it is a must watch. Do watch it and encourage OTT movies also to taste some success, at this point of time. Definitely a come back for Nayanthara. Looking forward to her next release.

Rating - 4.0/5