The documentary is purely based on some incidents of Nayanthara's life — from her first movie Manasinakkare (2003-Malayalam) to her latest release Jawan (2023-Hindi).
Nayanthara - Beyond the Fairy Tale.
Nayanthara – Beyond the Fairy Tale documentary had made the headlines before its release after Nayanthara’s open letter to Dhanush as he didn’t give a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for using location stills of Nannum Rowdy Dhaan (2015) for it.
In a way, the documentary got enough media attention with some supporting Nayanthara and others lashing out at her for waging war against Dhanush.
However, the documentary is purely based on some incidents of Nayanthara’s life — from her first movie Manasinakkare (2003-Malayalam) to her latest release Jawan (2023-Hindi).
It focuses on Nayanthara’s journey in cinema for the past 18 years, her entry via the Malayalam industry, how she became popular in the Tamil industry, the difficult times in her career, her personal life including her two relationships, marriage with Vignesh Shivan and about their kids.
Interestingly, even though it’s a documentary, the initial scenes were dramatic with discussions on the marriage of Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan not happening in Tirupati as they wished.
This part was too filmy and unexpected. But soon, the story of Nayanthara starts rolling. Veteran Malayalam director Sathyan Anthikad is introduced to the documentary where he explains how he found her from the cover page of a popular Malayalam magazine.
Her original name was Diana Kurian, but it was changed in her first movie. Born in Thiruvalla in Kerala, Nayanthara’s entry to cinema wasn’t a planned one, says her mother Omana Kurian who appears in the documentary.
Her mother says she and her husband were initially sceptical about cinema, but they decided to go forward. These parts are a bit emotional with Nayanthara’s mother briefing how her father used to accompany her to the shooting locations.
But after two or three Tamil films, Nayanthara’s father fell sick and she says that her dad has some serious neuropathic problem. The actor becomes emotional in this part and shows how she is taking care of her parents even if they are in Kerala.
The documentary also sheds light on different episodes in the life of Nayanthara with actors such as Radhika Sarathkumar, Rana Daggubati, Vijay Sethupathi, Chiranjeevi, director Atlee, Vishnu Vardhan, actor Parvathy Thiruvothu and Tamannah giving their perspectives about the most celebrated woman actor in Tamil cinema.
It’s quite interesting to see Raadhika Sarathkumar say that Nayanthara was able to prove herself in an industry where women don’t have equal importance as men.
Notably, Raadhika also says that Dhanush was the person who informed her of a love affair between Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara on the sets of Nannum Rowdy Dhaan, of which she was also a part.
Now let’s rewind to the news of Dhanush being the villain according to Nayanthara’s open letter. Interesting right?
In the documentary, Nayanthara also opens up about the relationships she had. However, she isn’t naming anyone.
According to her, the first relationship (reportedly with Silambarasan) broke up as trust among the duo was lost. Nagarjuna who had acted with Nayanthara for his movie Boss (2006) during this time said, “I think it was a turbulent time in her relationship. In fact, we would dread the moment her phone rang because it would turn her off immediately. She became a different person.”
The actor also briefs about her second relationship (reportedly with Prabhu Deva) which made her take a break in her career. She said this person told her that she couldn’t act. But again Nagarjuna rang her and asked if she was ready to act with him in his next movie.
Nagarjuna says he felt like calling her and she agreed to act. Nayanthara took a hiatus from 2011-2013 for a period of two years.
Nayanthara also briefs about the low phase of her career. She says that while acting in Ghajini (2005), she did what her director told her, adding that she was body-shamed in that movie. She aggressively says that one can say her performance is not good, but can’t fat shame her.
She also mentions her role in Vishnu Vardhan’s Billa (2007) which had Ajith in the lead role. Her appearance in a bikini didn’t go well with many people and it was a problem for them.
All these elements are new for the common audience, but for the people who are following this, it’s nothing new.
Nayanthara and Vignesh married two years back,
After briefing about Nayanthara’s filmography, now enters Vignesh Shivan who is there for a maximum of 45 minutes in the 1 hr 22 minute documentary.
Here, the controversial clip from the shooting of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan also appears. The love story of the duo is picturised in a very romantic way with both of them giving an insight into how they expressed their feelings as they fell in love.
An interesting aspect here is when Nelson Dilipkumar, a friend of Vignesh Shivan narrates the fights between the couple. His way of narrating their fights would even make the audience laugh.
At one point, he even says there will be only fights when both sides are in anger. Vignesh doesn’t feel angry towards his wife, the Jailer director said, laughing.
The last part of the documentary is mainly about the wedding planning and the planners’ brief on how they prepared for the big event which was held at a specially set glass house at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Chennai.
The event was attended by Rajinikanth, Shahrukh Khan, Suriya, Jyothika, Jayam Ravi, Anirudh Ravichander, Atlee and many other celebrities.
In short, the documentary is mainly about Nayanthara’s journey from a tinsel town in Kerala to the South Indian film industry where she proved herself as an actor reprising many roles. It also covers her wedding with Tamil director Vignesh Shivan and ends up showing their children Uyir and Ulag.
Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale highlights the life of Nayanthara and her marriage with her partner Vignesh Shivan.
There could have been more interesting aspects being mentioned about the career of the actor who had made a mark in South Indian cinema, but the documentary offers a good watch.
(Views expressed here are personal. Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
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