When a couple of years earlier, Netflix announced the documentary covering Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan’s wedding, there was a lot of excitement. But there was a long delay and it finally streamed on Netflix on 18th November, but this time the documentary took a slightly different route. It’s not just a wedding documentary, it gives you a glimpse into who Nayanthara is, or rather who Diana is, her thoughts, her feelings, her nature and how she is like every other ‘ordinary’ girl out there.
The documentary starts with a very cringe-worthy ‘ introduction’ to Nayanthara, It seems like it’s straight out of a movie, which will confuse audiences about whether it’s a documentary or just another Vignesh Shivan directorial. But once you get past the awkward and filmy intro to the lady superstar, you will enjoy getting to know this person.
Amongst the first few people to speak are her mother and her first director, Sathyan Anthikad, who made the Malayalam film, Manasinakkare with her. Her mother Omana Kurian talks about how Nayanthara’s entry into the movies was pure coincidence. These heartfelt conversations bring her story to life, you get to know the actress personally.
Excerpts by fellow actors such as Vijay Sethupathi, Raadhika Sarathkumar, Rana Daggubati, Nagarjuna, Director Atlee, Parvathy Thiruvothu, and Tamannah tell you who Nayanthara is beyond the camera. These bits keep you engaged and shed an interesting light on what her peers perceive her as.
Nayanthara speaks about her very public love life and breakup, without actually naming any names and kudos to her for talking about her emotional state during those times. She says that she wants to tell her side of the story, and that gives her more power. Then we are introduced to Vignesh Shivan. They take us through the shooting of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, confessing that they were in a relationship but didn’t want anyone on set to know.
Their chemistry is evident, the parts of them together capture the essence of their relationship, and a lot of couples will relate to them. Vignesh Shivan comes across as a self-aware and self-assured person, cracking jokes on himself and making her laugh, you feel an instant likeness.
Nayanthara comes across as one of us, who wants unconditional love, professional success, happy parents, happy kids, and very simple things in life. This is her superpower, she is extremely relatable. Her conversations in the documentary flow very organically, she is narrating her life in her own words and that comes across as genuine. There is no show there, there is no extravagance, there is this simple girl who liked being in movies and with every opportunity that came to her, also came immense challenges.
What you take away from this documentary is that she found success on her own, no one gets credit for what she has achieved. She says that she was a loner, which made her vulnerable and in an industry like this, people are waiting to take advantage. She fell in love multiple times, she lost her trust many times, she was cheated, she was shamed, but she was resilient. She hasn’t given up, and she will never.
The wedding documentary bits are like any other, there is the planning, there is chaos, a stunning location, creme de la creme from the industry and just pure love. Those last few minutes seem to do no justice to her story, it felt incomplete and left us wanting to know more about the woman that she has become now. What made her start a skincare brand, what kind of films does she plan on doing, her relationship with her twins, Uyir and Ulag, her relationship with her brother, etc?
Overall, the documentary is a heartfelt watch, you will relate to her journey, her ups and downs and her struggles, but you will also see yourself in her, in her wanting a partner who gets her quirks and loves her for who she is and not what she is.
Rating: 3/5
