Nayyi Navelli Movie Review: NAYYI NAVELLI has an interesting premise but suffers from weak writing.
Nayyi Navelli Movie Review Synopsis:
NAYYI NAVELLI is the story of a woman suspected of being a witch. Mohini (Yami Gautam Dhar), the country head of a company, marries Meerut-based Raja Awasthi (Addinath M Kothare) and moves into his joint family household. The family consists of Raja’s father S K Awasthi (Suneel Sinha), mother Asha (Sunita Rajwar), brother Bantu (Anurag Thakur), grandmother (Sushmita Mukherjee), Pinky Bua (Mita Vasisht), Pannu Chacha (Prateek Pachori), Rekha Chachi (Babita Pandey), Sumitra Tayi (Sonal Jha) and several others. Mohini wins over every member of the family with her charming personality. However, Bantu grows suspicious of her. After witnessing a series of bizarre incidents, he becomes convinced that Mohini is a ‘daayan’, aka a witch. He shares his suspicions with the family members, who understandably dismiss his theory. However, Bantu digs into the past and brings up certain incidents that force the family to reconsider their opinion. But there’s more to Mohini than meets the eye. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Nayyi Navelli Movie Story Review:
Himanshu Sharma has written a story that must have sounded like a winner on paper. However, Divy Nidhi Sharma’s screenplay is weak and dry. He tries his best to pepper the narrative with lots of funny scenes, but it fails to entice. Divy Nidhi Sharma’s dialogues are okay. Some one-liners do raise laughs but that’s about it.
Balaji Mohan’s direction is not up to the mark. To give credit where it’s due, a few scenes are handled deftly, especially the portions where Bantu narrates the incidents that lead him to believe that Mohini is a ‘daayan’. The sequence involving Vishal IAS (Aaditya Kulshreshth), his marriage to Pinky Bua and his subsequent discovery of the truth is arguably the funniest part of the film. The interval twist is unexpected and manages to catch viewers off guard. It is also smartly placed, as it might discourage viewers from leaving the theatre midway.
On the flipside, despite a promising premise and an assortment of quirky characters, the film fails to engage viewers. Both the weak script and uninspiring direction are to blame. The narrative begins to lose steam quite early, and even the horror-comedy portions in the flashback fail to make an impact. The interval twist raises hopes of an improvement, but the film falters once again in the second half. Several developments are difficult to digest and raise more questions than they answer. The narrative also takes a mythological turn in the latter half, but the execution remains unconvincing. That said, the Ramayana angle may help the film find some takers in the heartland. However, certain scenes are too difficult to digest. In one crucial sequence, Mohini travels to Haridwar and casually asks the priests to reveal the names of Lord Rama’s descendants. As expected, she fails to get the answer she is looking for. The entire sequence is childish, and one wonders how it was approved in the first place. Similarly, the scene where the family abandons Mohini and Raja is far from convincing.
Nayyi Navelli Movie Review Performances:
NAYYI NAVELLI rests on Yami Gautam Dhar’s shoulders and she puts up a worthy act. She rises above the script and delivers a performance which is restrained yet impactful. Addinath M Kothare is aptly cast. He has a crucial part in the story and does very well. Anurag Thakur makes the goings-on watchable with his performance. But he also goes over-the-top in some scenes. Sushmita Mukherjee and Mita Vasisht come next. Suneel Sinha, Sunita Rajwar, Prateek Pachori, Babita Pandey and Sonal Jha are decent. Aaditya Kulshreshth leaves a mark, while Ajay Pal (Pandit) and Akshat Singh (Gaggu) are fair.
Nayyi Navelli movie music and other technical aspects:
G V Prakash Kumar’s music is not of the chartbuster variety. Moreover, the songs are not effectively utilized in the film. Nevertheless, ‘The World Of Nayyi Navelli’ stands out, thanks to its catchy tune. ‘Phata Patakha’ appears at a point when viewers have already begun to lose interest in the proceedings. ‘Awadhiya Ke Raja’ is soulful and might work as a standalone track. However, its placement in the narrative is unconvincing, and hence, it fails to leave the desired impact. G V Prakash Kumar’s background score, on the other hand, is far more effective.
Rishi Punjabi’s cinematography is satisfactory. Ravi Srivastava’s production design is realistic, while Rushi Sharma and Manoshi Nath’s costumes are appealing. Phantom FX’s VFX could have been better, especially the backdrop in the terrace sequence at the Awasthi residence, which looks unconvincing. Mahesh Mathew’s action is fair, while Sumeet Kotian’s editing could have been sharper.
Nayyi Navelli Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, NAYYI NAVELLI has an interesting premise and a fine performance by Yami Gautam Dhar. However, the weak writing, unconvincing developments and poor execution make the film a disappointing affair. At the box office, it may benefit to an extent from the extended festive weekend and its mythological connection. However, the negative word of mouth is likely to affect its prospects, and the film may struggle to attract audiences in the long run.
