Natyam HD Released

 A good intent alone doesn’t make a compelling movie. Many filmmakers have failed on that front, and “Natyam” is another example. The attempt to tell a story of a temple dancer of the bygone era is appreciable, but the narrative, to put it straightforwardly, is boring.

“Natyam” is more or less a showcase of Sandhya Raju’s dancing skills but for the regular audience. The two-hour-plus lethargic tale is a sleep-inducing effort. The purpose of the film might be to promote art, but the execution is far from engaging.

Crisscrossing between a silly romantic track on Sandhya Raj and Rohith Behal, and the core story of Kadambari (again played by Sandhya Raj), the film charts an unexciting path. Many sequences are excruciatingly bad. The narrative reeks of amateurishness. Sandhya Raj’s expressions in non-dance moments further aggravate the mood.

To be fair, the film works in certain sequences. Obviously, they are dance episodes. The pre-interval episode is also neat. But the second half runs on with irrelevant, unnecessary tracks and sequences.

The film also makes many missteps when it comes to the core story of Kadambari. It does not do enough to make the audience invest in the story. Despite decent production values (shot in Hampi and other parts), and a better soundtrack, the film becomes an endurance test.

Why is it that even some young filmmakers are telling stories in an outdated way? "Natyam", the story and the treatment, is old-fashioned and boring.