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Nenjuku Needhi
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Wikipedia article
'Nenjuku Needhi' is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language political drama film, directed by Arunraja Kamaraj and produced by Boney Kapoor. A remake of the 2019 Hindi film 'Article 15', it stars Udhayanidhi Stalin, Aari Arujunan, Tanya Ravichandran, and Shivani Rajashekar. The film revolves around an upright police officer launching an attack against the caste system in India after caste-based discrimination and other crimes are dismissed
Principal photography began in April 2021 and wrapped that December. 'Nenjuku Needhi' was released theatrically on 20 May 2022, and received positive reviews, with praise for Udhayanidhi's performance and story. The film completed 50 days of its theatrical run.
Plot
S. Vijayaraghavan, an IPS officer, gets posted in a rural part of Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, where caste discrimination and untouchability is still in practice. Though Vijayaraghavan has read about the discrimination in many books, it gets difficult for him to confront these problems in real life. While he is still grappling with the ideologies of the people around him and trying to educate them, a mysterious case of three missing dalit girls, who were employed in the local factory, makes his life more miserable. Two are found dead, but the case gets complicated, as there is no trace of the third one. Who is behind this heinous crime and how Vijayaraghavan takes this case forward despite pressure from his casteist higher officials forms the rest of the plot.
Cast
* Udhayanidhi Stalin as S. Vijayaraghavan IPS
* Aari Arujunan as Kumaran
* Tanya Ravichandran as Adhithi Vijayaraghvan
* Shivani Rajashekar as Kurinji
* Suresh Chakravarthy as Circle Inspector Sundaram Iyer
* Yamini Chander as Dr. Anitha
* Ilavarasu as Sub-Inspector Malaichami
* Mayilsamy as V. Villalan
* Abdool lee as Vasan
* Ratsasan Saravanan as Nataraj
* Ramesh Thilak as Venkat
* Sayaji Shinde as The CBI Officer
* Ravi Venkatraman as Kesavan
* Jeeva Ravi as Superintendent of police
* Ashvin Raja as Mechanic Suresh
Production
In September 2019, it was announced that Boney Kapoor had purchased the Tamil remake rights of the 2019 Hindi film 'Article 15'. In August 2020, Kapoor confirmed that the remake was in development. It is Arunraja Kamaraj's second film as director after 'Kanaa' (2019). Udhayanidhi Stalin was chosen to play the lead role originally done by Ayushman Khurrana. Principal photography began in April 2021 in Pollachi. The title 'Nenjuku Needhi', named after the autobiography of Udhayanidhi's grandfather M. Karunanidhi, was announced on 16 October 2021. Principal photography wrapped in mid-December.
Music
The film's music is composed by Dhibu Ninan Thomas.
Release
'Nenjuku Needhi' was released worldwide on 20 May 2022. The film's distribution rights in Tamil Nadu are held by Red Giant Movies. It was originally scheduled to release in early March 2022, but then delayed to avoid clash with other films like 'Etharkkum Thunindhavan' and 'Radhe Shyam'. The post-theatrical streaming rights of 'Nenjuku Needhi' were bought by SonyLIV. The film began streaming there from 23 June 2022.
Reception
'The Times of India' gave a rating of 3.5 out of 5 and wrote, "A deeply-affecting and powerful film on caste disparities and inequality". 'Puthiya Thalaimurai' felt the film would win because it spoke a lot of hard-hitting facts throughout. 'ABP Nadu' wrote the filmmakers criticised the caste that politicians see and those who make a living by doing politics on the basis of caste; Udhayanidhi could be praised for that. 'Ananda Vikatan' wrote that the film speaks of the pain of the oppressed, the guiltless power of the dominant forces, and the role that all of society has in the tyranny of untouchability. 'The New Indian Express' gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "A heartfelt exploration of an important problem". 'The Hindu' wrote "The remake is well-adapted to suit the social milieu of Tamil Nadu, but doesn't quite immerse you into its world like its original". 'The News Minute' wrote, "Much like the Bollywood original, Nenjuku Needhi turns oppression into spectacle and denies dignity to the very people it claims to represent".
References
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