Yami Gautam turns Nayyi Navelli into a colourful supernatural ride, but the film’s lavish trailer launch may have been even more dramatic than its trailer.
IMAGE: Balaji Mohan, Addinath Kothare, Yami Gautam Dhar, Himanshu Sharma and Anurag Thakur at the Nayyi Navelli trailer launch. Photograph: Panna Bandekar
Key Points
- The Nayyi Navelli trailer launch was an extravagant event, designed to mimic a grand wedding, complete with a bridal entrance for lead actress Yami Gautam Dhar.
- Yami, fresh off her National Award win, plays Mohini, a ‘nayi naveli dulhan‘ (new bride) who is suspected of being a ‘daayan‘ (witch) by her brother-in-law.
- Director Balaji Mohan emphasised the film’s relatable family dynamics that take an unexpected supernatural turn, while Aanand L Rai highlighted the collaborative spirit of Indian cinema.
I do not know how the movie will turn out, but going by the gaudy trailer launch I attended in Mumbai, the makers of Nayyi Navelli are going at least full John Hammond with their pre-release promotions.
SPARE NO EXPENSE!
They went all out to create a proper baraati experience for what is essentially a three-minute preview and a short meet-and-greet. I am rarely a fan when producers splurge money on these media promotions, and was astounded by how they manufactured this huge wedding vibe for a simple trailer launch.
They literally turned IMAX Wadala (Miraj Cinemas) into an expensive wedding mandap with floral arrangements adorning the building, the stage and even the lobby, and more festivities inside and outside the multiplex building. If they wanted, they could have actually gotten someone married there.
About Nayyi Navelli And Its Biggest Star
IMAGE: Yami Gautam Dhar at the Nayyi Navelli trailer launch. Photograph: Panna Bandekar
Nayyi Navelli is a supernatural family entertainer starring Yami Gautam Dhar. Fans of Tamil cinema will be interested to know that the movie is helmed by Director Balaji Mohan (Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi, Maari, Maari 2), marking his Hindi debut, with music composed by G V Prakash Kumar.
It is jointly produced by Aanand L Rai’s Colour Yellow Productions and Amazon MGM Studios, with Himanshu Sharma and Divy Nidhi Sharma writing the script. The movie also stars Addinath Kothare, Anurag Thakur, Mita Vashisht, Sonal Jha, Prateek Pachauri, Aaditya Kulshreshth and Sushmita Mukherjee.
The biggest draw is, of course, Yami Gautam, whose stock has risen substantially after winning the National Award for Best Actress for her performance in Article 370.
Whether it was because of that accolade or just to sync with the film’s theme (or both), the actress received quite the welcome when she landed at an IMAX Wadala that had been given a highly celebratory makeover. Even before she arrived, cops were present at the venue for added security, something I am not used to for events like this.
For a brief moment, I even confused Anurag Thakur, who plays the protagonist’s highly suspicious brother-in-law in Nayyi Navelli, with the former Union minister Anurag Thakur. I genuinely thought all that security was for him.
But no, the PR team enlisted the Mumbai police to add more security for what was essentially an indoor, media-exclusive event. Perhaps it was purely because of how the organisers planned to properly welcome Yami Gautam to the venue.
WATCH: Yami Gautam Arrive At Nayyi Navelli Trailer Launch, Band Baajaa Baaraat Style
Dressed in an expensive gold and white embroidered ethnic ensemble, Yami looked like a traditional bride, and was driven to the theatre in a carriage-like vehicle.
To top it off, a massive dhol performance was carried out by men and women in yellow and white attire with pink turbans to welcome her. When she finally entered the venue, they burst coloured smoke bombs, much to the absolute surprise of all the attendees.
Inside the multiplex premises, vibrant food stalls served chaat and savouries alongside sweets like kulfi and jalebi. It was a terrible time for me to go on a diet!
Okay, so nearly full marks for getting the ‘dulhan‘ part of the movie right with these arrangements. But what about the ‘daayan‘ part?
After all, Nayyi Navelli is about this nayi naveli who enters the Awasthi household with a sinister secret, leading her brother-in-law to suspect she could be a daayan (a witch). Even the film’s official tagline is ‘Bhabhi daayan hai‘.
Come on, they could have included some spooky elements as part of the arrangements here. After all, Halloween is right around the corner.
Instead, the entire trailer launch just consisted of the comperes forcefully inserting ‘daayan‘ into nearly every sentence. Singer-actress Sugandha Mishra, who did most of the hosting for the event, kept asking how it would feel if a beautiful daayan like Mohini (Yami’s character) entered people’s houses, and how they would accept her.
Not everyone was amused. When she brought up those daayan comparisons yet again while Yami was on stage, the self-confessed introverted actress tactfully skirted the issue.
She politely stated she isn’t as impulsive as Sugandha and simply cannot come up with ready answers for questions like that. We get you, Yami. We really do understand those situations where you just have to smile your way out of annoying questions.
Even as Sugandha kept persisting with hypothetical scenarios from the film, Yami waited for some sensible questions. When she did not get any, she simply gave responses to questions that were never asked, talking about how she enjoyed working on the film and how it was a fun shoot with a great team.
To be fair to Sugandha, it is often the material these comperes are handed that keeps letting them down. I, along with the rest of the audience, was actually impressed by her mimicry skills and the clever voice modulations she brought to her singing.
A particularly hit bit during her performance was when she swapped the beats of popular chartbusters like Lungi Dance and Bhaag D K Bose for nostalgic tunes, drawing big applause.
WATCH: Yami Gautam Talks About How Her Feet Is Still Firmly On The Ground
Apart from Yami, the event was attended by most of the main cast, including Addinath Kothare, Anurag Thakur, Mita Vashisht, Sonal Jha, Prateek Pachauri, Aaditya Kulshreshth, and Sushmita Mukherjee.
Once the trailer was shown, they were all brought onto the stage, where most were asked about their characters and the experience of shooting the film.
I was a little disappointed that actress Sonal Jha was not given an opportunity to speak. This felt like a missed chance, particularly since Nayyi Navelli has a strong Ramayana connection and she is also part of Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming Ramayana (where she plays Sumitra).
Once that interaction wrapped up, most of the cast members left the stage. Balaji Mohan, Aanand L Rai, Himanshu Sharma, Nikhil Madhok (Head of Indian Originals at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios) then joined Yami, Addinath, and Anurag.
WATCH: Yami Gautam On Her National Award Win
The team then opened the floor for a question-and-answer session with the media. As expected, the very first question went straight to Yami, addressing her recent National Award win.
When asked if her win would make her more responsible regarding her future choices, she replied in the affirmative before adding, “The National Film Award is a really, really big honour. I think it is a very true validation for any artist across all languages and formats that you can receive in our country, and I take it with all humility.”
“I will be lying if I say nothing has changed. You do feel that yes, there is an added responsibility in me as an artist and an actor. I will always try to push even more, do even more diverse work, work even harder, and try to earn this love and respect that you have all bestowed upon me.”
“Coming from a very small town and reaching till here, I still feel there is a long, long way to go. There is so much for me to learn and so much more to do.”
Speaking about her role, she said, “What drew me to Mohini is that she is never quite what you expect. There is a warmth and familiarity to her, but also a mystery that slowly reveals itself.”
“Nayyi Navelli gave me the opportunity to explore a character that moves seamlessly between family, humour, emotion, fantasy, and action, while still staying rooted at heart.”
WATCH: Aanand L Rai Speaks About Working With South Talents
Aanand L Rai drew solid applause from the audience when asked if he was a North or a South Indian at heart. His simple reply: Why can’t he just be called an Indian?
When the journalist clarified his question, asking why he constantly collaborates with talent from the South (Dhanush, A R Rahman, and now Balaji Mohan and G V Prakash Kumar), Rai first cracked a dad joke, claiming he goes South solely for the idli-dosas.
On a more serious note, he added, “We are all Indians; our upbringing is similar. Our emotions are all the same, so why not make films together?”
“As for me going there more often, stories take you there. Even for this story, when Himanshu and Divya were completing the script, we knew we needed Balaji. We understood that handling a story like this requires a very solid director who understands it with all his heart and its nuances, and can truly deliver it onscreen. Nothing should stop you. It is your country, and you can go anywhere.”
Quite an appeasing textbook response.
His decision to go for a Chennai-based filmmaker to direct Nayyi Navelli may seem strange but going by the trailer, Balaji Mohan looks to have nailed the aesthetics of Meerut (where the film is set) alongside the grand festive vibe of Dussehra.
The director spoke about why he specifically chose Nayyi Navelli as his Bollywood debut. “What makes Nayyi Navelli special to me is that it starts with a family that feels instantly relatable. It has all the quirks, opinions, and madness you would recognise from any family, and then it takes things somewhere completely unexpected that will leave you pleasantly surprised.”
I loved the gesture where he took the time to individually thank every single crew member, whether present or absent at the venue, who was not formally called onto the stage.
WATCH: The Nayyi Navelli Trailer…
As for my own thoughts on the Nayyi Navelli trailer, it looks like a lot of fun. It is refreshing to see Yami give the serious, politically-heavy dramas a break and tackle a spirited role packed with sheer fun potential.
Personally, my absolute favourite performance of hers remains her turn as the vacuous influencer in Bala, where she proved she can pull off comic roles with immaculate ease.
Give her more of that, please.
Nayyi Navelli seems to put her back in that rarely visited mould (which she also ventured in the enjoyable Netflix film Dhoom Dhaam). Let us watch her do fun stuff like those moonwalk moves she was pulling off in the trailer.
The trailer makes it abundantly clear that her character, Mohini, is no normal bride. Just as her suspicious brother-in-law keeps insisting, there is something supernatural about her. The trailer does not even try to play coy with the suspense by showing us the moment her real self gets revealed in front of her family.
Some jokes feels dated, like Prateek Pachauri’s character chastising a child for muttering a Christian prayer on seeing Mohini float in the air, saying she is not a demon but a ‘vishudh bharatiya daayan‘.
Yami’s nonchalant reaction (‘Arre yaar!’) when Mohini gets ‘exposed’ gave me a quite a ‘Bhai’ vibe.
The trailer blatantly reveals what’s her real purpose is. She wants to vanquish the zombie(?)-like forces of a reborn Ravana. We even get a fleeting glimpse of Ravana’s face with fangs growing out of his teeth. Could that be Addinath Kothare?
The real suspense of Nayyi Navelli might just be whether Mohini is actually a daayan or a devi (Loved the theme scored by G V Prakash for her). Either way, she is in Meerut to vanquish Ravana once and for all, on the exact day he was defeated per the myths: Dussehra.
Perfectly fitting the theme, the movie is also releasing on Dussehra, with Nayyi Navelli hitting theatres on October 16.
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