Naangal Movie Review: A poignant coming-of-age story on the impact of parenting

Tamil cinema has often been the voice of the underdog. Whenever we see an underdog and their struggles, we are inspired, impacted, or both. At the end of every underdog story, we feel satisfied because the underdog won or has become better. However, real life is far from that. The world of Naangal is filled with stories of underdogs. Be it kids or adults, Naangal’s characters struggle to have their voices heard, only to be snubbed by an external force. In Avinash Prakash’s directorial debut, we see the story of two underdogs. One is a set of three brothers who live under the controlling eye of their strict father, and the other is a man who tries to focus his efforts on being a good father when his professional and familial life is crumbling.

Director: Avinash Prakash
Cast: Mithun V, Rithik M, Nithin D, Abdul Rafe, Prarthana Srikaanth, John E, Tanika Guruprasad, K Hariharan

In one of the earliest scenes, we see a film's colours reflected on the lens of a child’s glasses. This is the beginning of a key use of colour in the film. In Naangal, whenever a scene happens under the influence of the father, it is black and white. Whenever a scene happens outside the influence of the father, the world is full of colours. With this significant usage of colours, director Avinash moves the story forward with subtle touches. Instead of suggestive music or flashy dialogues, the director frames a scene in order for us to feel the emotions instead of merely focusing on feeding information to the audience. Also the film's cinematographer and editor, Avinash uses the camera to help us understand the extent of the father‘s control on his children. We don't see him right away, he is like a phantom looming over the children in a hillside bungalow, isolated and silent. As he interrogates the children for a mistake that one of them made, we see the children with their heads down, their bodies stiff with anxiety, and barely able to speak up. We hold our breaths throughout the scene as the camera movements and the dialogue are minimal, but the tension that seeps out of the scene is high.

With the father being a significant catalyst to the events in the film, it focuses more on the people around him and the continuing effects of his abuse rather than the father himself. His children are afraid to interact with him, only focusing on their chores and their schoolwork, because they would rather endure the never-ending physical drain of those chores than the narcissistic abuse of their father. With the absence of a wife, we see a man pushing adult responsibilities to young boys and expecting perfection from them. Even the smallest missteps have an extreme effect on the young boys. But as the film moves on, we are able to get a deeper look into the mind of the father. He is desperate to succeed at work and at home. He wants his kids to be the best so that he can take credit for their accolades. We see why he is not successful as an educator, we see why he is not successful as a husband, and why he is not successful as a father. In making sure that all the characteristics and backstories are revealed at the right moments, Avinash ensures that enough information is given to you so that you are not overwhelmed but also don't lack a complete picture of a character. Naangal is filled with a lot of new faces. But it's Mithun V, Rithik M, and Nithin D who shine bright throughout. Mithun is the emotionally repressive eldest brother who tries to hold it together because he feels responsible for all the wrongs around him, Rithik is the naughty middle brother whose rebellious nature is a source of anticipation, and Nithin is the innocent younger brother whose innocence is too pure for the world he is in. Abdul Rafe, as the father, gives a memorable performance.

Composer Ved Shankar Sugavanam’s music could also be described as a valuable performer, travelling along with all the characters, conveying emotions subtly. In a film where it feels like every department is in a healthy competition to be memorable, Ved Shanker Sugavanam is a definitive frontrunner with his music. In this era where identity crises are rampant and parents are forced to be extremely careful regarding every decision they take with their children, Naangal takes a step back in time to the 90s, to show how even the most fundamental aspects like words and actions towards a child can impact their lives to a significant extent. As good films often do, instead of providing warm, comfy answers, Naangal leaves us ruminating on a poignant question, “Will the children be ok?”