The much-anticipated documentary Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale was released on Netflix today. The documentary takes us on a journey of actor Nayanthara’s life, her career, and her wedding to filmmaker Vignesh Shivan. 

The release has also created much buzz after actor and filmmaker Dhanush sent a ₹10 crore legal notice to Nayanthara. He claimed that a clip from his movie Naanum Rowdy Dhaan was used without his consent. In response to this notice, Nayanthara posted an open letter addressed to Dhanush on Instagram citing “the vengeance you have been fostering against the film, my partner and I”. Dhanush’s legal team has now asked Nayanthara to take down the content within 24 hours. But is this controversial documentary an honest and in-depth dive into Nayanthara’s life? Read this Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale review to find out.

Less documentary, more movie

Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale seems less like a documentary and more like a well-scripted film. The opening scene of the documentary is as scripted as it could get. It starts with Nayanthara and Vignesh dealing with wedding venue changes at the last minute and the scene looks like it has been rehearsed multiple times before being shot. The documentary then proceeds to talk about the making of Nayanthara, the superstar, and this really is a fairytale. A very accomplished director notices a young woman in a famous magazine and reaches out to her to offer her a film. But the documentary never really goes beyond that fairytale. Though it touches upon the struggles Nayanthara faced in her career, they are never discussed in detail. We only get a shallow view of everything in her life, including her relationship with Vignesh Shivan.

What’s beyond the fairy tale?

Nayanthara describes a tough phase of her life when she left the industry for two years after the end of a relationship. However, the documentary is more focussed on her comeback rather than her dark phase and how she dealt with it. Nayanthara is described as a fighter and warrior who will never give up by famous directors and actors like Vishnuvardhan, Atlee, and Rana Daggubati. But we never get to see this through more vulnerable and defining moments. 

The later part of the documentary focuses on Nayanthara’s relationship with Vignesh, lovingly called Wikki. The second half is more BTS of the wedding preparations, leading to the wedding day, but never dives deeper into their relationship which in itself is quite novel. We rarely see an actor as successful as Nayanthara dating a one-movie-old director. Nevertheless, one thing that I appreciate about the documentary is that it doesn’t focus much on her past relationships even though they made news headlines. The fact that her past relationships are not considered important enough to be talked about in a biographical documentary is refreshing. 

Overall, the documentary could have focussed more on the struggles of a woman in the glamour world and what it takes to break all those stereotypes. After all, not everybody achieves what Nayanthara has. It could have shown more vulnerable moments from her life portraying that actors are humans too despite how strong they appear. But the documentary is just a fairy tale, focussing only on the good and grand parts.

Can you watch it with your family? Yes, the documentary doesn’t contain obscene language or explicit scenes.

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