Navarasa, the upcoming nine-part anthology film presented by veteran filmmaker Mani Ratnam and writer-filmmaker Jayendra Panchapakesan, is set to release on Netflix on August 6, the streaming platform announced on Friday.
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Netflix also released a teaser conceptualised by filmmaker Bharat Bala.
The anthology, as the title suggests, is based on the nine rasas (human emotions) – anger, compassion, courage, disgust, fear, laughter, love, peace, and wonder. Each of the nine segments will focus on one emotion.
According to the press release issued by the streamer, the anthology was conceived by Mani Ratnam and Jayendra as an initiative to raise funds to support those in the cinema industry who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent crisis. The project is produced under the banner of Justickets, in association with AP International and Wide Angle Creations as executive producers.
“All the talent and companies involved in the project have offered their services pro bono, with the sole objective of supporting the industry at large,” the press release added.
The anthology features a large star cast and each segment is helmed by a different director. Navarasa’s nine segments are:
- Edhiri (Compassion) directed by Bejoy Nambiar and starring Vijay Sethupathy, Prakash Raj, Revathy
- Summer of 92 (Laughter) directed by Priyadarshan and starring Yogi Babu, Remya Nambeesan, Nedumudi Venu
- Project Agni (Wonder) directed by Karthick Naren and starring Arvind Swami, Prasanna, Poorna
- Payasam (Disgust) directed by Vasanth S Sai and starring Delhi Ganesh, Rohini, Aditi Balan, Selfie Karthik
- Peace (Peace) directed by Karthik Subbaraj and starring Simha, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Master Tarun
- Roudhram (Anger) directed by Arvind Swami and starring Riythvika, Sreeram, Abhinayasree, Ramesh Thilak, Geetha Kailasam
- Inmai (Fear) directed by Rathindran R Prasad and starring Siddharth, Parvathy Thiruvothu
- Thunintha Pin (Courage) directed by Sarjun and starring Atharvaa, Anjali, Kishore
- Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru (Love) directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon and starring Suriya, Prayaga Rose Martin
Mani Ratnam and Jayendra Panchapakesan said in the press release that they felt a “strong urge” to help the Tamil film industry, which paved way for Navarasa. “We reached out to directors, writers, actors and technicians in the industry with this idea. The response was a spontaneous ‘yes’ from all of them. The project was executed in the thick of the pandemic, under the most difficult conditions by the different teams. With the utmost safety measures in place, nine films were completed. Today Navarasa is ready for the world to see,” they said.
Adding that the project will support 12,000 of their colleagues during the pandemic, they noted that Bhoomika Trust, a Chennai-based NGO, has been enlisted to deliver aid individually.
In March, Mani Ratnam and Jayendra Pachapakesan had started to distribute prepaid cards to workers of the Tamil film industry affected by the pandemic. The filmmaker duo had said that director RK Selvamani, President of the Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI), was helping them identify over 10,000 beneficiaries who would receive the relief.