''Narthaki'' is a 2011 Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Vijayapadma and produced by Punnagai Poo Gheetha. Focusing on the issue of transgender people, the film stars

Kalki Subramaniam Kalki Subramaniam is a transgender rights activist, artist, actress, writer, inspirational speaker and entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu. Early life Kalki was born in Pollachi, a town in Tamil Nadu. Born into a working-class family, Kalki was an ...

, Vivin and Girish Karnad. Music for the film was composed by

G. V. Prakash Kumar G. V. Prakash Kumar is an Indian composer, actor, producer and singer known for his work in Tamil films and a few Telugu films as well. His first film was S Pictures' ''Veyil'' (2006) and he became popular in Tamil cinema by the early 2010s. He ...

and the film opened to mixed reviews in May 2011.

Cast

as Kalki *

Leema Babu Leema Babu is an Indian actress who has appeared in Malayalam and Tamil language films. Career Lima made her acting debut as the younger version of Navya Nair's character in the Tamil film, ''Rasikkum Seemane'' (2010), before appearing as Bha ...

as Meena * Girish Karnad * Suzane George as Transgender's mother * Punnagai Poo Gheetha *Vivin *V. K. R. Raghunath *Azhagu *Karate Venkatesh *Ashwin as Subbu *Abhishek *Abbas *Susan *Swathisha as transgender *Reshma

Production

'Punnagai Poo' Gheetha Gheetha Ammasee, best known by her stage name "Punnagai Poo" Gheetha, is a Malaysian radio personality, film producer and actress, who works in Malaysia and the Tamil film industry in India. Gheetha gained popularity as a radio jockey at the M ...

readily agreed to finance the venture after Vijayapadma approached her with the script, as she was keen to make off-beat ventures. The movie was shot for a period of two months in places such as Thanjavur, Thiruvaiyaru, Mumbai and Chennai. The film's lead performer, Kalki Subramaniam, revealed that the script was derived from the real life incidents of transgender people. The team were initially upset that the film was awarded an "A" certificate, but were unable to change the decision of the censor board.

Release

The film opened to mixed reviews in May 2011. Rediff.com noted "if anything, it's the screenplay that falters at many places" and "the pace lags and picks up randomly", with "the dialogues, while trying to sound honest, appear quite clichéd at times and trite". The reviewer however adds that ''Narthaki'' "attempts to break new ground and address the pain of a community that has suffered for ages" and that "it showcases the fact that humanity needs to rise above such prejudices and accord transgenders the respect they deserve and for that, it needs to be watched". Similarly Behindwoods.com gave it a single star out of five, but added it is "an attempt that needs to be encouraged" and that "it is worth noticing since it provided answers for many questions among the general public that have very little information about the sexual minorities." ''Narthagi'' shared the Best Social Awareness Award at the 2012 Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards.

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was composed by

, with lyrics written by

Na. Muthukumar Nagarajan Muthukumar (12 July 1975 – 14 August 2016) was a Tamil poet, lyricist, and author. Best known for his Tamil language film songs, he received the most Filmfare Awards for Best Lyricist in Tamil and was a two-time recipient of the Nat ...

. Reviewing the album, Behindwoods.com noted the composer "has boldly taken up an experimental project". * "The Destiny" -

Naresh Iyer Naresh Iyer (born 3 January 1981) is an Indian playback singer. Born Mumbai, Iyer is fluent in Malayalam,Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Marathi. Naresh Iyer has rendered 2000 film songs in several Indian languages and has several chart hits to hi ...

and Saindhavi * "Poovin Manam Poovil Illai" — Tippu and

Harini Harini may refer to: * Harini (singer), South Indian film playback singer * Harini (Kannada actress) Harini is a former actress in the Kannada cinema. She was active during the 1950s and 1960s, retiring at the peak of her career. As of 2006 sh ...

* "Vaan Mazhaiyin Thuligal" — P. Unnikrishnan and Sudha Raghunathan * "Jai Jai Madha Sonthasi Madha" — Vijay Yesudas * "Chinnanchiru Idhayathil" — Vijay Prakash and Prashanthini

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1927091, Narthagi 2011 films 2010s Tamil-language films Films scored by G. V. Prakash Kumar Cross-dressing in Indian films Transgender-related films Indian LGBT-related films 2000s Tamil-language films 2011 LGBT-related films 2011 directorial debut films