Netrikann

{{Infobox film

| name = Netrikann

| image = Netrikann poster.jpg

| caption = Official release poster

| director = Milind Rau

| based_on = Blind

| producer = {{plainlist|

Vignesh Shivan

}}

| starring = {{plainlist|

}}

| writer = {{plainlist|

Milind Rau
Navin Sundaramurthy

}}

| music = Girishh Gopalakrishnan

| cinematography = R. D. Rajasekhar

| studio = {{plainlist|

}}

| distributor = Disney+ Hotstar

| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2021|8|13|ref1=}}

| runtime = 146 minutes

| country = India

| language = Tamil

}}

Netrikann ({{Translation|The Third Eye}}) is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller film directed and co-written by Milind Rau. The film stars Nayanthara with Ajmal Ameer, K. Manikandan, and Saran Shakthi in supporting roles. A remake of the 2011 South Korean film Blind, it centres around a blind police officer in search of a serial killer.{{Cite web |last=Sekar |first=Raja |date=17 September 2019 |title=Nayanthara to play visually challenged character in Netrikann, remake of 2011 Korean movie Blind |url=https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/nayanthara-to-play-visually-challenged-character-in-netrikann-remake-of-2011-korean-movie-blind-7352411.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211143611/https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/nayanthara-to-play-visually-challenged-character-in-netrikann-remake-of-2011-korean-movie-blind-7352411.html |archive-date=11 December 2024 |access-date=22 July 2021 |website=Firstpost}} The film is produced by Vignesh Shivan and Hyunwoo Thomas Kim under Rowdy Pictures,{{Cite web |date=16 September 2019 |title=Vignesh Shivan on Nayanthara's Netrikann: Director Milind's script is an intriguing thriller |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/vignesh-shivan-on-nayanthara-s-netrikann-director-milind-s-script-is-an-intriguing-thriller-1599545-2019-09-16 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723025045/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/vignesh-shivan-on-nayanthara-s-netrikann-director-milind-s-script-is-an-intriguing-thriller-1599545-2019-09-16 |archive-date=23 July 2021 |access-date=22 July 2021 |website=India Today}} and Kross Pictures, a multinational film and television production company.{{Cite web |date=15 September 2019 |title=Is Nayanthara's new film, Netrikann, a remake of a Korean film? |url=https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/news/2019/sep/15/is-nayantharas-new-film-netrikann-a-remake-of-a-korean-film-14300.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227165752/https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/news/2019/sep/15/is-nayantharas-new-film-netrikann-a-remake-of-a-korean-film-14300.html |archive-date=27 December 2024 |access-date=22 July 2021 |website=Cinema Express}} Netrikann was released on 13 August 2021 on the streaming service Disney+ Hotstar.{{Cite web |date=21 July 2021 |title=Nayanthara starrer 'Netrikann' to release on Disney+ Hotstar |url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/entertainment/web-series/nayanthara-starrer-netrikann-to-release-on-disney-hotstar-720965 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721230623/https://www.indiatvnews.com/entertainment/web-series/nayanthara-starrer-netrikann-to-release-on-disney-hotstar-720965 |archive-date=21 July 2021 |access-date=22 July 2021 |website=India TV}}

Plot

Two cases, one involving a missing person and the victim of a hit-and-run, appear related. The police search for witnesses.

Durga used to be a promising cadet at the CBI, but after a horrific car accident that killed her foster brother, Adithya, and caused her to lose her eyesight, her police career ended. She reveals to SI Manikandan at the police station that on the night of the hit-and-run case, she was picked up by a taxi cab driver. Durga believes the taxi driver may be the perpetrator of the crimes. Initially, Manikandan doesn't take her claims seriously because she is blind, but when Durga displays her acute senses, the detective starts to believe her.

Manikandan and Durga subsequently work together to find the cab driver, but all their leads turn up empty. Then, someone named Gowtham, comes forward. He is a motorcycle delivery boy who claims to have also witnessed the hit-and-run. Gowtham emphatically states that the car in question was not a taxi cab, but rather an imported sedan.

Later that night, when Gowtham is walking home alone, he is followed by Dr. James Dinah, a gynecologist who kidnaps and rapes young women. Gowtham tries to run but is struck by a brick. An ambulance arrives, and SI Manikandan and Durga drive to the scene. After being released, Gowtham sees Durga across the tracks at the Metro station, followed by James. He calls her and warns her about James. As he runs to catch up with her, she goes on FaceTime and shows him her location and surroundings. He guides her out of the Metro station and to safety. Durga reaches into her handbag and sprays James with pepper spray and runs off with Kanna, her seeing eye dog. James catches up with her in the elevator, however. He kills Kanna and injects Durga with a sedative.

When Durga regains consciousness, Gowtham is with her. At home, she gets a call from an unknown number. The caller warns her away from the case. A few days later, SI Manikandan and Durga visit Renuka, a friend of Sofia, one of James's victims, who reveals that Sofia was pregnant and had decided to get an abortion. To catch the killer, Durga disguises herself as a pregnant woman seeking an abortion. She finds James's secret clinic, and after a few turns of events, James ends up at the police station, whereupon he confesses to his crimes.

A fight ensues, in which Manikandan is killed and James escapes. Meanwhile, Gowtham and Durga are ambushed by the killer at an orphanage they are visiting. Gowtham fights James off while Durga runs to her car. The killer catches up to her, but she hits him on the head repeatedly, eventually killing him.

In the end, Durga has a new pair of eyes surgically implanted. At his remembrance ceremony, she reveals that they were donated to her by Manikandan.

Cast

{{Cast listing|

Nayanthara in a dual role as:
Durga: A former trainee police officer who lost her eyesight in an accident
Nancy: a software engineer, Durga's lookalike, and James's wife
Ajmal Ameer as Dr. James Dinah, a gynecologist who kidnaps, rapes, and kills young women
K. Manikandan as SI Manikandan, a kind and innocent police officer who helps Durga with the case
Saran Shakthi as Gowtham, a delivery boy who helps Durga in the case
Redin Kingsley as Babu, James's agent
Scooby as Kanna, Durga's seeing eye dog
Sacchin Nachiappan as Aditya, Durga's adopted brother
Lizzie Antony as Sofia's mother
RJ Ananthi as Renuka, Sofia's friend
Pradeep K Vijayan as veterinarian
Supergood Subramani as a police officer
Yaanai Joke Kathir as robber

}}

Production

The film was announced by producer Vignesh Shivan on his Twitter page in September 2019.{{Cite web |date=15 September 2019 |title=Netrikann: Vignesh Shivan announces Nayanthara's next |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/netrikann-vignesh-shivan-announces-nayanthara-s-next-1599346-2019-09-15 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723030629/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/netrikann-vignesh-shivan-announces-nayanthara-s-next-1599346-2019-09-15 |archive-date=23 July 2021 |access-date=22 July 2021 |website=India Today}} Principal photography took place in 2020. The team had completed almost eighty percent of the filming before a lockdown was announced by the government due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web |date=18 March 2020 |title=This is the status of Nayanthara's Netrikann! |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/this-is-the-status-of-nayantharas-netrikann/articleshow/74686767.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716165625/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/this-is-the-status-of-nayantharas-netrikann/articleshow/74686767.cms |archive-date=16 July 2023 |access-date=22 July 2021 |website=The Times of India}} Filming was completed in 2020.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Music

{{Infobox album

| name = Netrikann

| type = Soundtrack

| artist = Sid Sriram and Poorvi Koutish

| alt =

| released = 2021

| recorded = 2021

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Soundtrack

| length =

| label = Sony Music South

| producer = Vignesh Shivan

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

| misc =

{{Extra chronology

| artist = Sid Sriram

| type = soundtrack

| prev_title = Teddy

| prev_year = 2021

| title = Netrikann

| year = 2021

| next_title = Salmon 3D

| next_year = 2021

}}

{{Extra chronology

| artist = Poorvi Koutish

| type = soundtrack

| prev_title = Dil Bechara

| prev_year = 2020

| title = Netrikann

| year = 2021

| next_title = TBA

| next_year = TBA

}}

The film soundtrack was composed by Girishh Gopalakrishnan, while Karthik Netha wrote the lyrics. The song "Idhuvum Kadandhu Pogum", sung by Sid Sriram, was released in June 2021; an alternate rendition was performed by Bombay Jayashri.{{Cite web |date=10 June 2021 |title=Watch: First song from Nayanthara's upcoming 'Netrikann' is out |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/watch-first-song-nayantharas-upcoming-netrikann-out-150421 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723025045/https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/watch-first-song-nayantharas-upcoming-netrikann-out-150421 |archive-date=23 July 2021 |access-date=22 July 2021 |website=The News Minute}}

{{track listing

| headline = Track listing

| extra_column = Singer(s)

| total_length =

| title1 = Idhuvum Kadandhu Pogum

| extra1 = Sid Sriram

| length1 = 05:15

| title2 = Netrikann

| extra2 = Poorvi Koutish

| note2 = title track

| length2 = 03:45

| title3 = Idhuvum Kadandhu Pogum – Reprise

| extra3 = Bombay Jayashri

| length3 = 05:15

}}

Release

Netrikann was released by Disney+ Hotstar on 13 August 2021.{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/netrikann-trailer-nayanthara-stars-in-high-stakes-murder-mystery/article35601008.ece|title= 'Netrikann' trailer: Nayanthara stars in high-stakes murder mystery |newspaper=The Hindu|date=29 July 2021|access-date=1 January 2022}}

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. Janani K of India Today wrote, "Nayanthara's crime thriller is bland and illogical."{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/netrikann-movie-review-nayanthara-s-crime-thriller-is-bland-and-illogical-1840525-2021-08-13|title=Netrikann Movie Review: Nayanthara's crime thriller is bland and illogical|work=India Today|first=Janani|last=K|date=13 August 2021|access-date=13 August 2021}}

Ancy K Sunny of The Week described the film as a "predictable thriller" and added that it tried to convey a social message.{{cite web|url=https://www.theweek.in/review/movies/2021/08/13/netrikann-review-nayanthara-predictable-thriller.html|title='Netrikann' review: Nayanthara-starrer is a predictable thriller that tries to pass a social message|work=The Week|first=Ancy K|last=Sunny|date=13 August 2021|access-date=13 August 2021}}

Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South wrote, "After a while, the emotional angles begin to cohere well...the arc of the closing scenes is predictable — but again, the "believable heroism" makes it interesting to sit through. After a long time, we get a thriller that gets it mostly right, and a heroine-oriented film that gets it mostly right."

International Business Times film critic Nirmal Narayanan praised the film and wrote, "Nayanthara's crime thriller is mind-blowing, but a little lengthy. Nayanthara's solo performance is enough and more to watch this movie."{{cite web|url=https://www.ibtimes.co.in/netrikann-movie-review-nayantharas-crime-thriller-mind-blowing-little-lengthy-839692|title=Netrikann movie review: Nayanthara's crime thriller is mind-blowing, but little lengthy|work=International Business Times|first=Nirmal|last=Narayanan|date=13 August 2021|access-date=13 August 2021}}