Narudi Brathuku Natana review: A breezy, slice-of-life tale 

Many a time, we remain so focused and rigid about our destination that we forget to truly experience and savour the journey through it all. In Narudi Brathuku Natana, our protagonist Satya (Shiva Ramchandravarapu) has a somewhat similar conundrum. Ever since the age of 10, he has been aware and in desperate pursuit of his dream of becoming an actor, without necessarily possessing the skill-set for it. Even when he embarks on a solo trip, it is purely with the blind desire to learn something he believes is required for the dream. But what if your learnings lead you to a whole new direction altogether?

Directed by Rishikeshwar Yogi, Narudi Brathuku Natana begins with a variation of the classic ‘art comes only from pain’ theory. How far will the film prod along on that turf, you wonder. Fortunately, after a point, Satya doesn’t overtly ponder about his desire to become an actor. He is not particularly obsessed with the idea of ‘hoarding’ emotional depth anymore either; instead, he unwittingly focuses on the experiences that come by.

Cast: Shiva Ramchandravarapu, Nithin Prasanna, Shruti Jayan, Viva Raghav, Aishwarya Anil Kumar

Director: Rishikeshwar Yogi

Even though Satya remains stationed in that sleepy little town for a large part of the film, the storytelling itself feels akin to that of a road movie where our two primary characters together share many moments in life that teach them things big and small. There is a calm and breezy vibe to the way narrative progresses, self-assured in its laidback energy, with no conflict to resolve or no big endpoint to reach. Sometimes, all you need is two people going about their lives and unlocking their baggage in a subconscious manner instead of dealing with it head-on. It’s the atmosphere that director Rishikeshwar Yogi creates here that is his biggest accomplishment —a flowing narrative capturing the ordinary events of life, a narrative where a whimsically recurring motif of an on-the-run thief fits in perfectly. A subplot about surrogacy too remains surprisingly devoid of any sermonising, instead only focusing on the fragility of emotion around it.

I did find myself wanting to know more about Satya before we partake in his journey—what was he like for nearly 29 years of his life before he realized the dearth of a crucial ingredient to master his artform? There are a few moments where the film seems to take itself too seriously, like the visual motif of a bird’s nest that rests on a tree outside Lekha’s house or the comparison between human beings and a free bird in the climax, a sequence where the director cannot resist delivering a larger message about human nature. There is also the questionable usage of a subplot around sexual assault as a device to underline Satya’s evolving humanenness, which becomes further problematic by the director’s on-your-nose execution style. Barring these portions, the narrative remains easy-going and flows free like a river, unencumbered by any shackles of rigid narrative structure. The humour throughout is subtle yet sharp, and the laughs come in consistently.  (A particular moment alluding to a character gratifying himself left me shocked and cackling at once.)

The film is undoubtedly at its best in the 20 odd minute birthday celebration sequence in the second half, which goes to hilariously unexpected places, encompassing a whole gamut of emotions. Through all their antics and misadventures, we are laughing at the buffoonery of these two grown men, never laughing with them—not when Salman lands up at his ex’s house with a strange request, nor when they boast about their sexual prowess to a stranger.

Shiva Ramchandravarapu is excellent as Satya, particularly bringing great earnestness to moments where he has fewer dialogues. In a story where the communication gap between the protagonist and everyone else plays a major role, Shiva’s performance hits all the right notes. Nithin Prasanna, playing D Salman, is equally marvelous despite his character not being the story’s focal point. The two actors share amazing chemistry, particularly in comic moments, playing off each other’s energy to great results.

When the two characters first meet, there is an awkward formality between them, especially from Satya’s end. From witnessing that moment to then seeing these men forge a friendship of such intimacy without any big eureka moments or a moment of heightened emotion is refreshingly relatable—after all, that’s how life functions. Like a great sitcom character once said, if you stay in any one place for long enough, you grow the tendency to make it your home. And while life remains transient, you continue to make many homes, only to fly away from them to start afresh again and again. Friendships are the same. Among many other things, Narudi Brathuku Natana gets this right.