General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Navarasa

Navarasa (நவரசா; transl. Nine emotions) is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language anthology streaming television series created by Mani Ratnam, who produced it with Jayendra Panchapakesan through their banners Madras Talkies and Qube Cinema Technologies. It consists of nine standalone short films, each built around one of the nine rasas, the human emotions of classical Indian aesthetic theory, and premiered on Netflix on 6 August 2021.¹

Key fact	Detail
Format	Nine standalone episodes, each exploring one rasa (emotion) of Indian aesthetic theory; Tamil-language drama anthology¹
Release	Netflix, 6 August 2021, in over 190 countries; one season of nine episodes²
Producers	Mani Ratnam and Jayendra Panchapakesan; produced by Justickets, Madras Talkies, and Qube Cinema Technologies²
Purpose	Fundraiser for Tamil film workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; relief reached over 10,000 FEFSI-affiliated beneficiaries from February to August 2021³
Payment terms	Actors and directors worked without remuneration; only production costs and the wages of daily-wage workers were paid⁴
Notable cast	Suriya, Vijay Sethupathi, Revathi, Prakash Raj, Siddharth, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Arvind Swami, and Yogi Babu, among others¹
Audience rating	TV-MA; IMDb score 5.8/10 from about 4,000 users⁵

Spoilers

Episodes

Each episode takes its title and theme from one rasa.¹^•²

Edhiri: Karuṇā (compassion), directed by Bejoy Nambiar, with Vijay Sethupathi, Prakash Raj, and Revathi; a young man unleashes years of pent-up rage on a stranger who wronged his brother, and the aftermath reveals regret and resentment.
Summer of 92: Hāsya (laughter), directed by Priyadarshan, with Yogi Babu, Ramya Nambeesan, and Nedumudi Venu; a popular actor returns to his alma mater and recounts his reckless school days.
Project Agni: Adbhutā (wonder), directed by Karthick Naren, with Arvind Swami, Prasanna, and Poorna; a thinker fixated on a radical theory of the human subconscious shares it with a friend.
Payasam: Bheebhatsa (disgust), directed by Vasanth S Sai, with Delhi Ganesh, Rohini, and Aditi Balan; a discontented villager's envy of his nephew surfaces at a family wedding.
Peace: Shanthih (peace), directed by Karthik Subbaraj, with Bobby Simha, Gautham Menon, and Master Tarun; soldiers face risky choices when a boy separated from his family seeks their help.
Roudhram: Raudra (anger), directed by Arvind Swami, with Riythvika and Sreeram; a detained young man reflects on the assault he committed and its impact on his family.
Inmai: Bhaya (fear), directed by Rathindran R Prasad, with Siddharth and Parvathy Thiruvothu; a stranger's arrival at a young woman's home turns her ordinary day frightful and fateful.
Thunintha Pin: Veera (courage), directed by Sarjun, with Atharvaa, Anjali, and Kishore; after an ambush, a new official must transport a wily captive to police headquarters.
Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru: Sringara (love), directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, with Suriya and Prayaga Rose Martin; a musician hoping to revive his career overseas meets a vocalist on the eve of his departure. Menon described it as a musical love story unfolding over a single evening, told in about 40 minutes.⁶

Origin and charitable purpose

The project grew out of Mani Ratnam and Jayendra Panchapakesan's long collaboration raising funds for social causes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when Tamil film production had stopped and most industry workers, many of them daily wage earners, had gone long periods without work, the two decided on a substantial fundraising project rather than a token gesture. They asked directors and actors directly, and the participants agreed spontaneously.⁴

In January 2021 the producers announced that relief from the films would reach over 10,000 beneficiaries across the industry, starting from February 2021 until August. To identify recipients and their families, they worked with R. K. Selvamani, president of the Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI), and partnered with the Bhoomika Trust, a relief organization with more than two decades of disaster-relief experience, to deliver support monthly to each worker and family.³ Gautham Vasudev Menon, one of the segment directors, said the participants were clear they would work without remuneration and would continue donating more.⁶

Production

Netflix released the teaser on 9 July 2021 and the trailer on 27 July 2021, confirming the 6 August premiere date.⁷^•²

Direction of the nine finished episodes was handled by Arvind Swami, Bejoy Nambiar, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Karthik Subbaraj, Karthick Naren, Priyadarshan, Rathindran R Prasad, Sarjun, and Vasanth S Sai, while Pattukkottai Prabakar and Madhan Karky penned the stories.²^•⁸ For Mani Ratnam, the anthology marked a digital debut, and he said the project would not have been made for the big screen.⁴^•⁸

Reception and availability

The anthology ran a little over five hours in total. Reviewers described it as a mixture of strong and average segments; the NewsBytes review called the acting across the project a master class from Tamil cinema's established performers while judging some shorts brilliant and others middling.⁹ On IMDb the series holds a 5.8/10 rating from about 4,000 users, and it carries a TV-MA rating on Netflix in the United States.⁵

Navarasa premiered on 6 August 2021 across more than 190 countries and remains available on Netflix, including in 4K with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. It was added to Netflix USA on 3 December 2025.²^•⁵^•¹⁰

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › South and Southeast Asian serials › South Asian web serials › Premiered 2013 to 2024

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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