Nadhi Movie Review: This anti-caste film drowns in mediocracy

Over the years, we have seen how Madurai has become the favourite setting for filmmakers who tell stories about casteism and honour killing. Nadhi, directed by Thamarai Selvan, is set in the same Madurai. In the first few minutes, the makers try to establish their choice of setting with the help of newspaper cuttings and footage of gruesome murders. It's accompanied by a narration in the apt voice of Sasikumar, whose breakout film Subramaniapuram, again set in Madurai, also dealt with a similar theme. 

Cast: Sam Jones, Anandhi, Vela Ramamoorthy, Karu Palaniappan

Director: Thamarai Selvan

Nadhi is not a film that's strong on visual storytelling. It relies more on dialogues and exposition. It is Sasikumar who 'tells' us that this film is about two dreamers — Tamizh (Sam Jones) and Bharathi (Anandhi). While the former belongs to a lower-middle class family, the girl belongs to a powerful political family from a privileged caste. The setting is such that it instantly reminds one of Mari Selvaraj's Pariyerum Perumal and Anandhi's presence further accentuates it. Unlike in Pariyerum Perumal, where the girl is oblivious to the discrimination around her, Bharathi in Nadhi has a stronger presence and stands up for what she feels is wrong. Vela Ramamoorthy, in his umpteenth role as a casteist oor thalaivar, plays her periyappa. Then there's Karu Palaniappan as Duraipandi, her thaai maaman, who's at loggerheads with the family. To settle scores with them, he makes Bharathi and Tamizh the scapegoats.

Tamizh, a badminton player, dreams of making it to the National level and securing a government job. Munishkanth plays his fun dad and the moments in their family are quite endearing. On the contrary, Bharathi is a product of a toxic household, where pride and power hunger take precedence over love and care. Though the narrative takes its own sweet time to establish how Bharathi falls in love with the timid Tamizh, the pace is still bearable. However, there is an infuriating stretch between the hero and his sidekick where the makers resort to homophobia to elicit cheap laughs. Seriously?

If Nadhi's storytelling isn't inventive, the performances don't help either. Sam Jones is one of the weakest links in the film as he delivers an extremely amateurish act. Except for a couple of scenes, including a fight sequence in the jail, the actor looked completely out of place. Anandhi has a comparatively better role, but she also gets a raw deal in the latter half as she is completely ripped off her agency. Karu Palaniappan is the film's saving grace as he effortlessly pulls off a manipulative character. His Duraipandi could have easily been just another scheming, evil character but Palaniappan brings in a delightful wackiness to it.

Nadhi gets to an interesting place towards the end of the first half with an unexpected interval block. But from there, it falls flat and confines itself to just another romantic tragedy. But if you think about it, was there even a great love story in Nadhi? Not really. The characters or their conflicts aren't new. Their tragic ending isn't new. There's no resolution. There's no hope. Just like this film.