One of contemporary Tamil Cinema’s strongest anti-caste and creative voices: Pa Ranjith, released his latest feature film ‘Natchathiram Nagargiradhu‘ (transl : The Star is moving) on 31st August 2022. This romantic musical drama opened to positive critical and audience reviews but underwhelming box-office results. It is now streaming on Netflix India, hardly 28 days after the theatrical release without any prior announcement or promotion. As Netflix India dropped the cat out of the bag yesterday, the audience also seemed to think so.
Most of the theatricals stream on OTT platforms atleast a month after the release. But in Natchathiram Nagargiradhu’s case, its a little early. Netflix India also dropped the film without any prior promotion or announcement. This is quite a lazy move from the streaming giant. They acquire titles and drop them like hot potatoes without giving them the push they require.
One could argue that this is because the film moved out of theatres quicker than usual and because of the nature of the film. Unlike Ranjith’s previous theatrical outings like Attakathi, Madras, Kabali and Kaala, Natchathiram Nagargiradhu is far too indie. Most of his filmography is too mainstream, popular and box office success stories. Even his previous outing ‘Sarpatta Parambarai’ (2021) which was a direct Amazon Prime Video release was far too mainstream a film than Natchathiram Nagargiradhu. But it is Indie titles that streaming giants should be promoting more. Such films deserve to reach a wider audience atleast on streaming. Mainstream titles have an edge when it comes to popularity.
Natchathiram Nagargiradhu was grossly under-watched at the theatres and screens got replaced quickly. A direct clash with Vikram’s Cobra also hampered the film’s chances. Although Cobra was a badly received film, it managed to grab most of the screens and then 15 days later transfer it to Gautham Vasudev Menon’s ‘ Vendhu Thanindathu Kaadu’. Almost a month later, the film has moved out totally from the theatres to accommodate Mani Ratnam’s PS-1 as well. But, off-late theatricals are dropped on streaming platforms quicker than usual, especially when they’re box-office flops. Vijay Deverakonda starrer ‘Liger’ being the latest example. Unlike Liger, Natchathiram Nagargiradhu is undeniably a good film.
With so many people not being able to catch the film at the movies due to lack of shows and screens and the film being far too streaming audience friendly in its treatment and messaging, a quicker OTT release might just fuel the prospects of increased viewership on the platform. We can only hope the film travels wide enough because on promotional front, Netflix seems to be doing nothing.
Natchathiram Nagargiradhu stars Dushara Vijayan, Kalaiyarasan and Kalidas Jayaram in major roles. Tenma composed the film’s music, quite a deviation from Ranjith- Santhosh Narayanan collaborations. Watch Natchathiram Nagargiradhu on Netflix India this weekend. Stay tuned for more updates.