Natchathiram Nagargiradhu

A theatre company is preparing a play about love. Everyone in it comes from a different place: different castes, different classes, different politics. During rehearsals they argue about the subject of the play and the argument becomes personal. Rene is the most outspoken of them and has a matter arising from her own relationship. Ardhanari is directing the play. The company cannot hold together. Pa. Ranjith writes and directs. Ranjith is foremost among the directors in Tamil cinema who treat caste directly, and this is one of his most explicit works. The structure rests on argument; the characters make long speeches and the film does not hide it. The subject is not love but who has the right to love whom. The consequences of marriage outside caste in India are directly its matter and the film refers to real cases. Its use of colour is striking; the scenes are deliberately shot in dense colour and move away from realism. It caused argument on release and drew objections in some quarters. Its limit is form; in places the arguments become statements and the characters come to represent positions. Who it is for: viewers who follow politically grounded Tamil cinema and films built on argument. Who it is not for: it is dense with talk, the narrative carries a thesis, and some characters serve a function.