The year 2016 has seen close to a dozen horror-comedy flicks and director Govi’s ‘Nayagi’ joins the list. It is not just another, as it is going to be remembered for years to come for a wrong reason. ‘Nayagi’ is the film with tedious horror and torturous comedy, which is really painful to sit through even for the purpose of reviewing.
Sanjay (Sathyam Raju) an over confident short filmmaker takes his loyal girl friend Sandhya (Sushma Raj) to his friend’s guest house with the ill intention of cheating on her. But they are deviated to an isolated bungalow. Soon they discover the presence of a ghost Gaytri (Trisha) who is visible only through a mobile camera.
Later Sanjay learns that Gayatri and her father (Jayaprakash who is also a ghost, we suppose) are on a mission to either reform or kill the men who cheat women under the pretext of love.
What happens to Sanjay and his girl friend and what is the story behind Gayatri that made her a ghost- baying for the blood of unfaithful men- forms the rest of the film.
Director Govi seems to have had little care for a story with a semblance of novelty or a script with interesting ideas. The premise of a cheated girl turning into a ghost out to kill promiscuous men, is as old as the hills in Kollywood.
The entire first half of the film depends heavily on slapstick comedy which hardly evokes laughter. Most of the antics of Sathyam Raj (who gets a lion’s share in first half) in the name of comedy actually irritates and no one will behave in the way he does when he knows he is at a place haunted by a ghostly spirit. Sendrayan’s character is added in the second half to spice up the comic quotient but a million dollar prize needs to be given to someone who finds how the makers thought these scenes will make anyone laugh.
The portion that brings out waves of laughter in the theater however is the pre-climax portion and the song which forms part of the end of the ghost’s flashback. This is the portion which the writer should have intended as the serious and hard-hitting part of the film. Even the other parts of the flashback which forms the backbone of the film has nothing to engage or entertain except the fact that it is set in 1970s and the efforts to bring authenticity for the period is appreciable.
There are a few ideas that really work here and there: the lead character aspiring to become a heroine and her dream alive even after becoming a ghost, the ghost being visible only through a mobile camera and the ghost using a bunch of men killed by her to horrify her new target. But these are way short to save the film from being a painful watch.
For a film billed as a bilingual, the Tamil version has a lot of Telugu flavor; even the costumes of men resemble Telugu style. But this looks a minor problem when compared to the other ones in the film.
Sathyam Raju despite going overboard with his antics, gives a neat performance otherwise and also manages to raise a few giggles. Sushma Raj is adequate for her role and makes a mark in the scenes where she takes the form of a ghost.
The film ought to belong to Trisha but sadly it is not. With such a poorly written character she fails to make any impact even with the setting and the costumes of the 1970s. The ‘Bhayam’ song (also crooned by her) which comes during the end credits will be the only saving grace for Trisha fans.
Jayaprakash has just been wasted. it is really disheartening to see people laughing at his gestures in the pre-climax song which is actually not his fault. Veteran comedian Brammanandam comes in the climax portion and he has been added to just add star value to the cast. It is a shock to see Ganesh Venkatraman in a character like this and his performance also leaves much to be desired.
Raghu Kunche’s songs do not add any value. Sai Karthik’s re-recording fits the bill. Cinematographer Jagadeesh Cheekati has done a commendable job with his lens especially in night and indoor scenes.
Verdict: Not recommended even if you are an ardent fan of Trisha.
