Naal review: Moving tale of a child exploring his relationships
NAAL is the story of Chaitanya, an eight-year-old mischievous boy. Living in a remote village in Maharashtra, along the banks of a river, he is fathered by a small-time landlord and pampered by a loving and caring mother. Naal is attached to Chaitanya’s emotional world and follows him on an unexpected journey of experiencing motherly love.
The film presents a twist in the tale and explores the tender relationship between a child and his mother.
Naal revolves around the naughty yet innocent kid Chaitanya aka Chaitya (Shrinivas Pokale). He lives with his parents (Devika Daftardar and Nagraj Manjule) in a remote village in Maharashtra. His father is a respected landlord. Chaitya is a happy-go-lucky boy who enjoys village life to the fullest until he learns a secret. Naal succeeds in transporting you to the world of Chaitya and his peaceful and picturesque village. The leading character and his friends’ are simple, amusing and adorable.
The story has plenty of scope for melodrama. But the narrative is kept as simple and subtle. Sudhakar Reddy deserves applause for his mature writing and presentation skills. He has complimented his style well by expressing their emotions mostly through expressions. Shrinivas Pokale deserves a long round of applause for pulling off such a difficult role with relative ease in his very first film. To put it simply, he stuns you with his acting skills and cuteness.
After establishing the tale in the first half, the film could have plummeted in the second half. However, Naal stays put and reaches the climax in impressive fashion, without any hiccups.
Sudhakar Reddy has worked as a cinematographer for more than a decade. Just like his writing and direction, his camerawork plays a big role in bringing the film on a par with international standards. Naal has a number of shots, both indoor and outdoor, that are creatively handled.
Naal has no songs because they were not needed. The background score plays its part in evoking the right emotions, especially in the final scene.
Coming to the rest of the performances, Devika Daftardar has proved her acting skills over the years and is impressive yet again. Nagraj Popatrao Manjule has acted convincingly in both the films he directed – Fandry (2014) and Sairat (2016). In Naal, too, he plays his character very well.
Naal’s graph goes up and down with Chaitya’s state of mind and has the desired effect. On the other side, the film takes its time to progress, thereby making the relatively short running time look stretched. Overall, Naal is a heartwarming saga that must be watched irrespective of your taste.
