Navarasa (2021– ) User Reviews

Navarasa: Three Hits, Three Misses and Three Duds !!

[madhukar30 · 6/10 · 7 August 2021]

For all its hype and relentless online marketing, Navarasa definitely scores high for its technical brilliance and production design. In fact almost all of its nine stories, put together has a runtime of 5 hours, and has a very few parallels on the technical side that can match Navarasa head to head, in Kollywood. But the screenplay and writing has more misses than hits, only 3 stories intrigued the viewers minds, while another 3 offers nothing new and 3 more are just boring and a makes a painful watch.

Episode 1: Edhiri, Very Good but not brilliant, Actor Vijay Sethupathi's talents goes under utilised here.

Episode 2: Summer of 1992, Has a few laughs but Director Priyadarshan offers nothing new.

Episode 3: Project Agni, Brilliant concept but director Karthik Naren rushes to tell and do too many things in a very short time.

Episode 4: Payasam, An Authentic 1960s tale, aided by some brilliant production design and costumes. Prakash Raj would have been an better choice than Delhi Ganesh here.

Episode 5: Peace, I never new LTTE spoke with such funny accents and wore makeup, before operations.

Episode 6: Roudram, Brilliant tale that intrigues the viewer minds for its entire run time. Arvind swami stuns us with his caliber as a director.

Episode 7: Inmai, Parvathy shines in this rather insipid folklore, that tries hard.

Episode 8: Thunintha Pin, An outright dud from the screenplay pages of Ravaan or Ravaanan (2007), that didn't make the final cut. Really? Mani sir?

Episode 9: Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru, A Typical Gautham Menon, blah blah blah that I have been watching for 20 years now. Frankly Mr. GVM, don't you have any other ideas? A Brilliant Song by Karthik in a dud within.

Overall, Watch Navarasa for its technical brilliance and a wonderful Toorigha song, when you have absolutely nothing to do, sans higher expectations. 6 out of 10 stars for a promising anthology which goes flat eventually.

Dont get fooled by the name "Mani Rathnam"

[m-ramanan · 5/10 · 7 August 2021]

RATED 5/10 Language: Tamil Source: Netflix

Runtime: nearly 5hrs. 9Episodes and each around 35 minutes.

Total disappointment. Only surprising episode is "Project Agni", it is surprising at the same time confusing.

Surya Episiode is overdose of GVM-ism. It was cute till the motor bike ride through Adayar, after that its repetitive and overdosed.

Rowthiram is bit OK but not justified fully.

All the other episodes are not noteworthy and not eligible for movie candidate... Easily skippable one.

Mixed feelings

[pranayjalvi · 6/10 · 11 August 2021]

Navarasa, with 9 different segments, didn't quite stand out as an outstanding portrayal of life. I would say that roughly 3-4 segments were good and the rest were either average or totally disappointing. The last segment, featuring Surya was a sure disappointment, since it might have been the most hyped segment.

The cinematography was without a doubt good throughout the series, along with the music. Some episodes felt shallow, as if they were being forced to describe the societal fundamentals, rather than portraying it.

The best segment was the Project Agni and the most disappointing was the last segment.

My Rating : 6/10.

Underwhelming

[Sennara · 7/10 · 6 August 2021]

Cinematography is good. Music is good. Acting is fine. Stories are mostly uninspiring, uninteresting and weird.

Unwanted webseries

[rajaram-48577 · 5/10 · 7 August 2021]

Don't watch it with high expectations.

But still you will not be satisfied.

Unbelievable ,many people gathered to make this mediocre webseries.

We shouldn't blame any Actors or technicians.

People who had involved in story and screenplay should take the blame.

Reputation of many good actors in peril.

Except Inmai and roudram ,all are not good.

It really shows the movie has budget constraints and also didn't experiment anything as new.

Overall no emotions or feelings for this webseries.

Its not upto its mark

[ahamedmn · 6/10 · 6 August 2021]

Only the Project agni, summer of 92, raudhram, inmai, guitar kambi mele nindru helps the total Navarasa. Episode 4 Payasam u better skip it and Episode 8.

Norasa.

[mohitkaren · 3/10 · 7 August 2021]

Forget about navarasa (nine emotions), I couldn't feel even one rasa. Siddarth (bhaya) part is somewhat bearable. My three stars are for awesome cinematography and production values, what purpose they serve when the core emotion is missing.

Such a heartfelt one - Edhiri by Bejoy Nambiar on KARUNA

[Dr_Manoputhran · 9/10 · 7 August 2021]

Three top class performers like Revathy, Vijay Sethupathi and Prakash Raj under one rasa called Karunai, what else can make this one so touching! Perfect picturisation and background score are added gold! This one's definitely one of my favourites.

Not all the emotions (rasas) worked

[SivakumarBalachandran · 6/10 · 7 August 2021]

Navarasa as the name suggests is an expression of 9 human emotions (rasas) in form of 9 short films featuring stellar ensemble cast with popular directors and technicians on board. With all that we get ready for an extremely emotional ride but the ride isn't interesting enough to get us intrigued.

So for me 3 out of 9 worked and the rest merely had good efforts but failed to translate the vision or message of the story teller.

Here is a short review on my top 3 episodes:

Inmai (Fear) stars siddarath and Parvathy was an eerie take of an islamic horror, folklore, thriller with a twist served to perfection in terms of performances,cinematography, direction & production design. For a short film this was a stand out for me.

Rowdhram (Anger) had an usual story of poverty and life struggle of a single mom to keep her kids happy but the expression of anger towards the exploitation in our society was subtly put in form of one boy's anger. This was a surprise directorial debut by actor Arvind samy who also appears in one of the shorts.

Payasam ( Disgust) transports us to the world of Kumbakonam Brahmin family's marriage and happens in 1965. The whole plot on envy, ego, jealousy transforming to an act of disgust was skilfully emoted by the legendary Delhi Ganesh.

Verdict : See over all Navarasa had strong acting and execution but didn't have equally strong substance in the storyline. So we didn't get invested by all the emotions and we leave with a rasa of "feeling flat".

• Sivakumar Balachandran.

Avoid the series

[saidassankaran · 1/10 · 7 August 2021]

Giving 1 stars to balance out high rating spamming by Suriya fans.

Only project Agni episode is Awesome

[bharatkalyan99 · 10/10 · 8 August 2021]

Project Agni deserved to be seperate Web series which can attract world wide audience.

Decent series except for one story

[rswason · 7/10 · 7 August 2021]

All the stories are good except the last one - Love. Had so much expectation from the Surya - Goutam menon combo. It was awful- terrible music, no story, corny dialogues, zero chemistry between the leads and surya looks too old to play a young struggling musician.

All the other stories were good with strong performances.

Expected too much and disappointed.

[bizzarebrajesh · 5/10 · 6 August 2021]

Well, I was really excited about this series, but got disappointed.

The acting, cinematography and background scores are the best, direction is average but story is really poor.

I liked the 1st, 7th and 6th episodes the most, they really give some great message.

Some are average like 4th and 5th Some are really worse like the 3rd and 8th. If the know the 3rd episode's director's most of the movies end like that. For 3rd episode I'll say just adding confusing terms doesn't make a story great.

9th was bit confusing and incomplete storyline.

But really disappointed. I've rated as the average of all episodes.

Nice attempt

[jakegylly · 7/10 · 7 August 2021]

KARUNA-good,HAASYA-perfect,ADBHUTHA-unique,BHEEBATSA-worst,SHANTHI-thought provoking,RAUDRA-predictable,BHAYA-not at all scary,VEERA-bad,SHRINGARA-only music and flirting.. felt nothing.

Expected a lot better with so much talent on board! [+51%]

[arungeorge13 · 5/10 · 12 August 2021]

Navarasa turned out to be a mixed bag given the range of (on-screen / behind-the-screen) talent on board. The Netflix anthology very clearly scores more lows than highs, with just a few segments managing to leave a solid impact. The concept behind it is actually quite unique, and its tasteful packaging (from the minds of Mani Ratnam and Jayendra Panchapakesan) also makes for a great reason to get hyped about it. Is it worth exploring? Let's go segment by segment:

Edhiri (Karuna - Compassion): The performances (Revathy, Vijay Sethupathi, and Prakash Raj) and the score by Govind Vasantha stand out in this one. Plotwise, it was okay.

Summer of '92 (Haasya - Laughter): Priyadarshan's writing is weak, and the only genuine laugh in this one arrives at the very end. The actor who played the younger version of Yogi Babu was impressive.

Project Agni (Adbhutha - Wonder): Karthick Naren's project is an ambitious sci-fi thriller that could easily work as a 2-hour feature film. This is probably the only segment with a definite ending.

Payasam (Bibhatsa - Disgust): While Delhi Ganesh's natural performance is a plus, the rest of the segment felt like a complete miss. It struggled to evoke the emotion it was supposed to.

Peace (Shaantha - Peace): Second time in a row (after the disappointing Jagame Thandhiram) that Karthik Subbaraj tackles the Eelam issue with uninteresting results. The presentation here (also featuring a 13-minute continuous shot) is slightly better in comparison to JT, though from a storytelling standpoint, I expected better.

Rowthiram (Raudra - Anger): Arvind Swami's directorial debut is focused around a basic revenge plot but the way he stages the whole thing (with a fantastic twist!) is awesome. Santosh Sivan's attributes a certain rawness to the visuals which works. A slightly better closing sequence would have helped.

Inmai (Bhayaanaka - Fear): This has an inventive plot but the actual scare factor is zero (more like implied horror!). Performancewise, there isn't much to bicker about. Vishal Bhardwaj's musical score is remarkable.

Thunindha Pinn (Veera - Valour): Difficult to fathom that it was written by Ratnam as the dialogues are all over the place. The segment comes off as the weakest overall, with director Sarjun KM displaying no creative control over the politics it tries to profess or even the characters.

Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru (Shringaara - Romance): GVM's concept of love hasn't aged one bit. It's still superficially at first sight, starts off as platonic before sexy revelations are made, highly expository in nature, set against the backdrop of hummable tunes (by Karthik) and mug-focused expressive visuals (by PC Sreeram). Suriya's screen presence is unquestionable but the plot and its nuances feel like déjà vu.

Overall, Navarasa is an okay effort when it should have been downright amazing!

Good Series. More experimental than entertaining. Slow-burn type

[B1slowburn · 6/10 · 7 August 2021]

I would highly recommend you to watch Inmai, Roudhram first. Project Agni might work for you , but if you are a serious sci-fi fan (it might not) Most of the others are slow-burn type where you need to fullu engage with what is being given.

Summer of 92 is funny, but unlike the other ones, not very deep.

If you are into serious art-house, counter-cultural stuff you will like this. However otherwise you might not find it very entertaining.

Waste of time - E9

[almaam · 1/10 · 7 August 2021]

I really wonder what were they thinking while making Episode 9. Have never really ran short of patience like I did while watching this one.

Not that the rest of the lot was all great.

In short - E2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 were fine.

The rest are blah.

Celebration of Art n Thoughts

[jjjustin051 · 10/10 · 6 August 2021]

Brilliant piece of Art , Life ,Thoughts in its high aesthetic beauty... Classy stuff.

Top 3 of Navarsa

[benjonesindia · 8 August 2021]

All episodes gives you a new experience and everyone's performance were marvelous but all stories are not good.

Best 3 of Navarasa 1. Inmai - Fear 2. Payasam - Disgust 3. Summer of '92 - Laugh.

9 Juices exactly what it says

[Alien901 · 7/10 · 7 August 2021]

Well I liked the Season 1, All plots are interested. I like the sci-fi episode it's mind-blowing, I like it quite. And a scene pissed me off where a sick teisted old fool destroyed all the sweet "payasam" that was made for wedding.

It's a worthy for spending time. I enjoyed the season 01.

Bad story and screen play, not creative at all

[prabhubhojan · 1/10 · 8 August 2021]

1 star for anger nothing else was watchable. Dont waste time on this guys.

A Mixed Bag of 9 Rasas With More Misses Than Hits !!!

[cs_rahul_prasad · 10/10 · 7 August 2021]

The idea of exploring 9 Rasas through the format of an anthology makes Navarasa one of the most innovative attempts at filmmaking from Tamil cinema in recent years. However, when you start to dissect each rasa or emotion through the shorts, you realise that not all of them work. While a few shorts succeed in translating the emotion into the story, the rest barely manage to make a dent. Also, it can get extremely exhausting to watch over five hours of shorts in one go.

One of the most anticipated shorts, Guitar Kambi Mela Nindru, features Suriya in the lead. Directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, the short explores the theme of love. It leaves you drained with its extremely cliched romantic setup. The story is centered on a musician and how he gets inspired to get better at his work after he meets a girl. Suriya and Prayaga play the lead characters and as much as they strive to bring out the chemistry, everything feels artificial. While romance is his sweet spot, Gautham Menon is getting repetitive with his writing, and it is as though he's stuck in a loop and being forced to make the same stories.

Karthick Naren's short, which is titled Project Agni, explores the theme of wonder. It's one of the best shorts of the anthology and qualifies as Karthick's best work till date. In just 30 minutes, he comes up with a mind-bending science-fiction thriller that packs a solid punch. From talking about human civilisation to alien life and subconscious reality; the short leaves you awestruck by the end. Arvind Swami and Prasanna keep you pinned with their performances till the last minute.

Vasanth S Sai's Payasam is set against the backdrop of a brahmin wedding. Based on the theme of disgust, it stars veteran actor Delhi Ganesh in the lead while Rohini and Aditi Balan are seen in supporting roles. The short talks about how one man's jealousy pushes him to do something that leaves his own daughter feel disgusted. It takes a very predictable route to make its point.

Arvind Swami makes a solid directorial debut with Roudhram, which explores the theme of anger. The writing and the filmmaking make it the best short of the anthology. It is centered on the investigation of a young boy who has knocked down a man with a hammer in a fit of rage. As the cops try to find the reason behind his action, the story cuts back to narrate what pushed him to the edge. But the big surprise comes in the form of a final twist.

Rathindran Prasad's short, Inmai, about fear, features Siddharth and Parvathy Thiruvothu coming together for what's a very interesting take on horror. It turns the usual tropes associated with the horror genre on its head to present a drama that delves deep into what fear really is for them.

Karthik Subbaraj's short about peace is about the price one has to pay for giving up to fight. It's set against the backdrop of the civil war between LTTE and the Sri Lankan army. It focuses on a few LTTE soldiers at an outpost and their encounter with a young boy. The idea is praiseworthy but somehow the message doesn't get translated effectively enough to leave an impact. It features Bobby Simhaa and Gautham Menon in key roles.

Sarjun's short on courage is the weakest of the lot. Another story that explores the mindset of a soldier who is handed over the responsibility of transporting a wounded Naxalite to a hospital. The short asks whether saving a life takes more courage than taking one? However, the intention behind the short never comes through convincingly enough. It stars Atharvaa Murali and Kishore as the central characters.

Bejoy Nambiar's Edhiri, about compassion, stars Vijay Sethupathi and Revathy in the lead roles. Even though the central theme is about compassion, the short also touches upon themes like guilt and forgiveness. Can a wife forgive the killer of her husband? It's a slow-burning drama that relies on strong performances from Vijay Sethupathi, who once again shines with his minimalistic acting, and Revathy.

Priyadarshan's short on the emotion of laughter is a major letdown. It features Yogi Babu, a popular comedian, in the lead but the short is devoid of laugh-out-loud moments. It has a very interesting premise but struggles to evoke any laughs for the most part.

I couldnt find all RASA

[manaflatheef · 6/10 · 8 August 2021]

In all the nine stories directors tried to bring the RASA'S but some of them are failed or some of them didnt go that far.

I liked 1,2,3,6 and 7 in 7 i got some glitch on parvathy's acting.. 4,5,8,9 felt nothing but the song on 9the RASA was good.. GVM really need to think abt bringing something new😄😄😄

Boring one

[Cmar-611-137140 · 1/10 · 8 August 2021]

It's such a waste of time & it's boring one ..not even single was good....

High hopes, low results

[vishwagauravin · 8 August 2021]

Only 3 episodes are worth watching. Other episodes are either boring or have poor plot.