The pandemic has proved to be a difficult time for all. Amidst all the gloom, OTT platforms and their myriad releases – Bollywood, South films and Hollywood blockbusters – have been the silver lining in the dark cloud. This year has proved particularly rewarding for filmmakers and streaming services alike. Besides hit films and direct to digital releases, even a five-year-old film that was stuck without a release (Nenjam Marappathillai, which releases on ZEE5 this week), found its way to streaming.
Amidst the bonanza of films, one question keeps creeping up in our minds. What’s up with the Tamil film, Naragasooran? Why isn’t the much-awaited, much-talked-about film releasing on streaming? It can’t be for lack of interest for certain. Heck, fans have been demanding the release of the film like forever! It’s the most asked for release by film buffs, whenever any talk of direct to digital releases comes up on social media.
It can’t be for lack of trying too. Director Karthick Naren has diligently tried to sell the film to a streamer. In fact, he’s been interested in releasing the film on OTT for about a year now. Naren even took to Instagram to run a poll, asking viewers whether he should release the movie on digital. Upwards of 80% people gave him a thumbs-up. That shows interest on both sides – audiences as well as director Karthick Naren. Yet, for some reason, the film hasn’t seen the light of the day even now – more than a year later.
Naragasooran is a thriller film, the second in Naren’s “thriller thrilogy”, with the first one being Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru, aka D16, a hit neo noir crime thriller. That itself makes it a movie worth watching out for. The ensemble cast of Arvind Swami, Shriya Saran, Sundeep Kishan, Aathmika and Indrajith Sukumaran is intriguing. Naragasooran is easily the most anticipated film out of all, but no one seems to be interested in releasing it. The movie’s been ready since 2018. Which is a pity really. Depriving audiences of a seemingly must-watch film is just not done.
It’s not even that Karthick Naren doesn’t have star value. His last release, Mafia: Chapter 1, received both critical and commercial acclaim. Then why? What could be the reason for the no-show of Naragasooran. Despite generating a lot of buzz, the film has been stuck in the cans for all the wrong reasons.
And the unreleased status of Naragasooran lingers on, and on, and on…..