Nasir (film)
| Nasir | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Arun Karthick |
| Produced by | Mathivanan Rajendran |
| Starring | Koumarane Valavane Sudha Ranganathan |
| Cinematography | Saumyananda Sahi |
| Edited by | Arghya Basu |
Production companies | Stray Factory Rinkel Film, Uncombed Buddha, Magic Hour Films, Colored Pickle Films, Harman Ventures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 75 min |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Nasir is a 2020 Tamil-language drama film directed by Arun Karthick and is an Indo-Dutch co-production between Stray Factory, Rinkel Film, Uncombed Buddha, Magic Hour Films, Colored Pickle film & Harman Ventures. The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "An observational chronicle of one seemingly ordinary day in the life of a seemingly ordinary sari salesman in the southern city of Coimbatore," with a focus on tolerance and human values. The movie's poster is inspired by the outline of Gandhipuram.[1]
Nasir was the recipient of the Hubert Bals Fund in 2018.[2] The film premiered at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam in Tiger Competition and won the NETPAC award for Best Asian Film premiering at the Festival[3] It also bagged the Grand Prix at the 14th Andrei Tarkovsky Zerkalo International Film Festival, Russia.[4] It won the Golden Wood in the Asian Arthouse Film Festival, 2021, Kolkata.
Cast
- Koumarane Valavane as Nasir[5]
- Sudha Ranganathan as Tal[6]
- Yasmin Rahman as Mother
- Sabari as Nephew
- Bakkiyam Sankar as Coworker
- Rajesh as Salesboy
- Jensan Diwakar as Coworker
- Nivedhitha as Coworker
- Prasanna as Cashier
- Vikramadityan Nambi as Playboy
- Bharath Rawal as Shop Owner
- Prabanchan as Dhasthagir
- Saimathi as Dhasthagir's wife
- Rifa as Schoolboy
- Saahithyaa as Schoolgirl
- Abdul Jaffar as Rahman
- Meena as Cashier's wife
- Valli Revathi as Customer
- Balasubramanian as Watchman
- Sharadha as Night Food Seller
- Jaikumar as Night Food Seller
- Gayathri as Customer
- Umavathi as Water-Taking Woman
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 6 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7/10.
Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave 4/5 stars and wrote, "Nasir is a heartfelt ode to a man who deserves better - and, by extension, to all humans who do."[7] Shikhar Verma of High on Films gave 3/5 stars and wrote, "Nasir is a political film showcased through a life of miserable positivity. It takes us through sequences of daily routines – some of which can be easily dismissed as boring; to bring us to its ultimate climactic reasoning."[8]
Luke Gorham of In Review Online wrote, "What’s immediately striking about Nasir, Arun Karthick’s sophomore feature, is the ebb-and-flow rhythm of its slice-of-life portraiture. Karthick immediately and consistently trains his camera on the toil of hands, maestros of daily drudgery; characters’ heads, meanwhile, often extend beyond the frame, as if to suggest their peripherality with regard to life’s grind."[9]
Jay Weissberg of Variety wrote, "'Nasir' is a superb example of what can be done on a tiny budget when the vision is strong, the script is low-key, and the performers privilege rapport and naturalism over dramatic flourishes."[10]
Neil Young of Hollywood Reporter wrote, "A quiet plea for tolerance and an assertion of humanistic values in an era where such things can no longer be taken for granted, Nasir is all the more touching for its scrupulous avoidance of sentimentality and manipulation. The quietest voices, it reminds us, can often make the most penetrating, memorable impact."[11]
References
- ^ "'Nasir': Film Review | Rotterdam 2020". The Hollywood Reporter. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ Jeshi, K. (21 May 2018). "Following 'Nasir'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ Rosser2020-01-31T19:01:00+00:00, Michael. "Rotterdam Film Festival 2020 winners revealed". Screen. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Arun Karthick's 'Nasir' wins Grand Prix at prestigious Russian international film fest". www.thenewsminute.com. July 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ Joshi, Namrata (5 May 2020). "'Nasir' movie review: Losing his religion". The Hindu.
- ^ Weissberg, Jay (9 February 2020). "'Nasir': Film Review". Variety.
- ^ Chatterjee, Saibal (1 June 2020). "Nasir Review: A Heartfelt Ode To A Man Who Deserves Better". NDTV. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ^ Verma, Shikhar (8 May 2020). "Nasir (2020) Review: Living a Life Under Religious and Communal Bigotry". High on Films. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ^ Gorham, Luke (17 December 2020). "Nasir - Arun Karthick". In Review Online. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ^ Weissberg, Jay (17 December 2020). "'Nasir': Film Review". Variety. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ^ Young, Neil (28 January 2020). "'Nasir': Film Review - Rotterdam 2020". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 1 August 2025.