The details presented in the documentary often come across as curated, still Amit Krishnan does a fine job in exploring her rise to the top while breaking barriers along the way. What comes out strikingly through the documentary is Nayanthara’s mental strength in dealing with heavy trolling, letting the work do the talking
The number of female actresses who have done glamorous roles and have also created a strong image for themselves breaking the usual stereotypes aren’t many in number. Lady superstar Nayanthara is an exception. She has acted with many big heroes like Rajnikanth, Ajith and co but at the same time the actress has broken barriers with strong female centric films. Her market base is as strong as any big male actor. She has earned the tag of a female superstar. Even in big commercial movies like Viswasam Nayanthara’s character comes across as a strong woman.
Nayanthara Beyond the Fairy tale has been in the making for a long period finally releasing on Netflix. This 1 hour and 20 minutes documentary begins with event managers discussing with Nayanthara and Vignesh about the numerous options for their wedding venue. This includes the possibility of Tirupati. From here we go to a flashback of Nayanthara talking about her journey of 18+years. There are also Nagarjuna, Rana, Atlee etc. discussing her qualities.
The beginning portions of ‘Nayanthara Beyond the Fairy tale’ feel a bit flimsy. There is something off with the staging particularly the scenes of the event managers discussing the possible avenues of marriage. But soon the show finds its groove where the narrative shifts to her journey in showbiz.
A particular mention must be made of the part where Nayanthara talks about Ghajini. She reads out a particular sentence from the review of the movie. “An annoying and overweight, whose rolls of fat appear to be doing a Mexican wave across her waist in a song sequence. Ouch!” There is a palpable pain in the way Nayanthara talks about being body shamed and how it affected her mentally.
Right after this part the focus shifts to the bikini scene and her bold avatar in Ajith’s Billa. Director Vishnu Vardhan talks about how Nayanthara built a strong image for herself through this role. Another portion worth mentioning here is the part where Bhardwaj Rangan talks about Nayanthara’s role in the thriller/comedy Kolamaavu Kokila. Again, the importance of this role in breaking the general barriers associated with women characters and Nayanthara’s breakthrough performance makes it one of the best segments in the documentary.
Apart from the likes of Nagarjuna, Rana, Atlee and co you also have Radhika Sarathkumar, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Tammanna Bhatia etc. speaking about the relevancy of Nayanthara in breaking the notions of how a female actor’s star status is always linked to a male actor. The following statement of Parvathy Thiruvothu deserves a particular mention. Nayanthara made moves to assert herself in the movie industry at a time when “being a powerful woman was akin to witchcraft”.
The documentary would have had a larger impact if it had focused somewhat more on the ups and downs of her professional journey. Her love story with Vignesh Shivan is beautifully narrated but somewhat dominates the professional journey which the documentary needed to have more.
As already mentioned, ‘Nayanthara Beyond the Fairy Tale’ feels heavily curated on what information to give and what to hide. As a result, it lacks a wholesome quality which an actress of Nayanthara’s stature deserved.
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