Nayyi Navelli Review: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Nayyi Navelli is a warm, fast, and funny family film with a smart hook and a great performance from Yami Gautam. The songs do not fit, and the story leans too hard on mythology, but it is a perfect festive outing for all ages.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Language: Hindi
Genre: Fantasy Comedy, Family Drama
Runtime: 2 hours 18 minutes
Director: Balaji Mohan
Cast: Yami Gautam, Addinath Kothare, Anurag Thakur
When did you last sit with your whole family, eat snacks, tease each other and laugh out loud at the same film? For many people, it has been a long time. Nayyi Navelli tries to fill that gap, and for the most part, it does it with a big smile.
The story is set in Meerut. Mohini, played by Yami Gautam, falls in love with Raja Awasthi, played by Addinath Kothare, and decides to marry him. She has no family of her own, so she takes her marriage proposal to his family herself. Everything seems sweet until Raja’s brother Bantu, played by Anurag Thakur, catches her doing a pooja in a lonely forest. Soon he is telling everyone that the new bride is a daayan, a witch. The whole Awasthi family, charmed by Mohini until then, starts to believe him.
Is she really a daayan? Where is her family? Why did she marry Raja? Those questions drive a fun folklore fantasy that is deeply tied to mythology and the old story of Ram and Ravana. The film wisely keeps its biggest surprises hidden, so it is best to go in knowing as little as possible.
What makes the idea clever is how familiar it is. Every Indian home knows the feeling of a new daughter in law being watched closely. The writers, Himanshu Sharma and Divy Nidhi Sharma, take that everyday worry and turn the volume up with folklore. A grandmother and a ten year old can both understand the joke. Even when the story turns supernatural, the humor stays rooted in the family.
Yes, the plot is easy to predict. It is a tale of good against evil, so you know the good side will win. But the fun is in the ride, and the film makes sure you enjoy it. One line says Ram is the son of Bharatvarsha and will come across ages whenever he is called from the heart. In the theatre, a child shouted that God had arrived. When a film can get kids that excited, it is doing something right.
Yami Gautam is a delight. Known for serious work in A Thursday, Lost and Article 370, she plays Mohini with warmth and mischief in a very different avatar. One moment she is dancing, and the next she has the energy of Bajrang Bali. She looks like she is having a blast, and that fun spreads to the audience. Addinath Kothare has a strong presence and shares easy chemistry with her, while Anurag Thakur wins attention as the suspicious brother in law.
The family cast makes the film feel real. Sunita Rajwar and Mita Vasisth, along with Aaditya Kulshreshth, Susmita Mukherjee and Prateek Pachori, look like a true household, and the women in the story have plenty of spice and strength.
Director Balaji Mohan brings a high energy, South style touch to a North Indian setting, and the mix feels fresh. The pace is brisk, with no filler, and the shifts between humor, mystery and action are smooth.
There are a few weak spots. The songs do not match the mood or the festive feel. Once the film moves into its mythological setup, it never fully returns to the family, and it would have been nicer to see the family involved more instead of depending only on the daayan bahu. Some viewers may also expect a horror comedy, which this is not.
Still, with Dussehra close, the timing is perfect. It is light, colorful and does not ask you to think too hard. Take everyone from the kids to the grandparents, and enjoy it together.
If you are planning more theatre trips, our review of Aasha covers a tense revenge thriller that fumbles its ending, and for something silly in a very different way, our review of Street Fighter looks at a cheesy video game movie that knows exactly what it is.
Nayyi Navelli is now playing in theatres.