Navarasa Review

When an anthology is themed on the nine rasas, it ought to depict a different emotion in what it brings together as an assemblage of films. Netflix’s latest offering in Navarasa brings out nine different stories that pack in a range of emotions, with each having its own share of special moments.

With nine films in contention, Karthick Naren’s Project Agni turns out to be the best of the lot, presenting a believable sci-fi tale that has so much happening in it but still comes out clean due to the amount of clarity involved. The second film in the best list would be Rathindran Prasad’s Inmai, which is a classic tale of fear induced by actions in the world. The performances in the film bring in a terrific tale that grips us by the collar, and keeps us invested. Arvind Swami’s rough and tough directorial debut in Roudhram is another very good tale in the anthology, with a smashing cast that does well all round. Karthik Subbaraj’s Peace is another film that makes use of a simple tale and brings out the right amount of emotions.

The rest of the series is not too interesting, with films that lack the punch and the relatability required. Though there are some good bits here and there, the end result of the remaining films does not shine.

Technically, Navarasa is neat with good contributions from the music directors and the cinematographers involved across the films. The films are set up on a good scale, and not one of them look badly made or chopped in.

In total, Navarasa is a fine offering that hits an equal amount of good and bad notes. Some more care in the process would have led to some quality films in the series, which would have done better justice to the emotions.  Navarasa Review by Siddarth Srinivas

Navarasa Review Rating: 3/5