# Nayaki
**Nayaki** (Tamil: நாயகி; also released as **Nayagi**) is a 2016 Indian comedy horror film shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu and directed by Goverdhan Reddy, who is credited as Govi. It stars [Trisha Krishnan](https://www.edgepedia.org/trisha-actress) as Gayathri, the ghost of an aspiring actress, with [Ganesh Venkatraman](https://www.edgepedia.org/ganesh-venkatraman), Satyam Rajesh, and Sushma Raj in the principal supporting roles.[1](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/nayagi-teaser-the-teaser-of-trishas-horror-comedy-is-out-313830-2016-03-18) • [2](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/nayaki-although-there-are-two-leads-trish-is-the-hero-of-the-film-says-director-govi-327190-2016-07-04) The Telugu version reached cinemas on 15 July 2016 and the Tamil version on 16 September of the same year.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/wahiyat-wednesday-trisha-s-horror-film-nayaki-is-a-slap-on-all-your-senses-1700886-2020-07-15)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original titles | Nayaki (Telugu) / Nayagi (Tamil), a Tamil-Telugu bilingual[1](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/nayagi-teaser-the-teaser-of-trishas-horror-comedy-is-out-313830-2016-03-18) |
| Director | Goverdhan Reddy, credited as Govi, who also wrote the story and screenplay[1](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/nayagi-teaser-the-teaser-of-trishas-horror-comedy-is-out-313830-2016-03-18) • [4](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/nayagi/nayagi-review.html) |
| Lead | Trisha Krishnan as Gayathri, a ghost; Govi called her "the hero of the film"[2](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/nayaki-although-there-are-two-leads-trish-is-the-hero-of-the-film-says-director-govi-327190-2016-07-04) |
| Release dates | Telugu: 15 July 2016; Tamil: 16 September 2016[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/wahiyat-wednesday-trisha-s-horror-film-nayaki-is-a-slap-on-all-your-senses-1700886-2020-07-15) |
| Genre balance | Govi described it as a retro horror-comedy that is "98 percent comedy and two percent horror"[2](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/nayaki-although-there-are-two-leads-trish-is-the-hero-of-the-film-says-director-govi-327190-2016-07-04) |
| Music | Songs by Raghu Kunche; background score by Sai Karthik[4](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/nayagi/nayagi-review.html) |
| Critical reception | 1.5/5 from The Times of India (Tamil version); 1.25/5 from the Behindwoods review board[5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/nayaki/movie-review/54379831.cms) • [4](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/nayagi/nayagi-review.html) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Sanjay (Satyam Rajesh), a short-film maker with a reputation for bravado about ghosts, plans to take his girlfriend Sandhya (Sushma Raj) to a farmhouse with the intention of deceiving her, while he also courts a rich woman. The couple is diverted to a restricted area near a bungalow where people have been disappearing for years.[5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/nayaki/movie-review/54379831.cms) • [8](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Nayaki?hl=en_US&id=25g5uXjAWRs)
The bungalow is haunted by Gayathri (Trisha), a vengeful spirit who kills men who have wronged women. Her distinguishing device is that she is visible only through a mobile camera, a trait tied to her backstory as an aspiring actress whose desire to face the camera went unfulfilled.[8](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Nayaki?hl=en_US&id=25g5uXjAWRs) • [9](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2016/Sep/18/review-not-quite-the-nayaki-one-would-expect-1521089.html) The Telugu version opens with reports of men going missing in the Dundigal area on the outskirts of [Hyderabad](https://www.edgepedia.org/hyderabad), while the Tamil review places the mansion at Nandhivaram; the film ends with the release of Gayathri's film and Sanjay suggesting that she will return whenever there is wrongdoing.[10](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movie-reviews/nayaki-movie-review/movie-review/53228008.cms) • [9](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2016/Sep/18/review-not-quite-the-nayaki-one-would-expect-1521089.html)
## Production
The film was produced by Giridhar Mamidipally, Trisha's former manager, under the banner Giridhar Production House, with Padmaja Mamidipally as co-producer.[1](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/nayagi-teaser-the-teaser-of-trishas-horror-comedy-is-out-313830-2016-03-18) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5159412/fullcredits/) Govi described it as a retro horror-comedy, a label he said had not been attempted before, with the story moving back and forth in time and Trisha mostly seen in a 1980s look.[2](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/nayaki-although-there-are-two-leads-trish-is-the-hero-of-the-film-says-director-govi-327190-2016-07-04)
**Bilingual shoot.** The film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil, and Govi said the bilingual was completed in 48 days, which he credited to Trisha's cooperation. Her 1980s costumes and make-up took about five hours to apply each day, and she sang a three-minute promo song, one minute of which was used as the title track.[2](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/nayaki-although-there-are-two-leads-trish-is-the-hero-of-the-film-says-director-govi-327190-2016-07-04) The supporting cast included [Jayaprakash](https://www.edgepedia.org/jayaprakash), Satyam Rajesh, Brahmanandam, Kovai Sarala, Manobala, and Sentrayan.[2](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/nayaki-although-there-are-two-leads-trish-is-the-hero-of-the-film-says-director-govi-327190-2016-07-04) • [7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-details/nayagi/movieshow/61292778.cms)
## Release
The film was originally scheduled for 15 July 2016 in both languages, but the Tamil release was postponed, reportedly because of a delay in the certification process, while the Telugu version opened on 15 July as planned. The Tamil version followed on 16 September 2016.[11](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/trishas-nayaki-gets-postponed/articleshow/53140568.cms) • [3](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/wahiyat-wednesday-trisha-s-horror-film-nayaki-is-a-slap-on-all-your-senses-1700886-2020-07-15) The Tamil cut ran about 2 hours 1 minute with a U/A certificate, and the Telugu cut about 2 hours 5 minutes.[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-details/nayagi/movieshow/61292778.cms) • [10](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movie-reviews/nayaki-movie-review/movie-review/53228008.cms)
## Reception
Both versions opened to negative reviews. M Suganth of The Times of India rated the Tamil version 1.5 out of 5, writing that even for a horror comedy the premise felt flimsy and that the duo became the ghost's target for almost 70 percent of the film in repetitive sequences.[5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/nayaki/movie-review/54379831.cms) Srividya Palaparthi gave the Telugu version the same 1.5 rating, calling the story worth about half an hour with the rest padded by slapstick comedy that was not remotely funny.[10](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movie-reviews/nayaki-movie-review/movie-review/53228008.cms) The Behindwoods review board gave 1.25 out of 5, judging that the film neither scared, nor made audiences laugh, nor conveyed a message.[4](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/nayagi/nayagi-review.html)
Reviewers were not uniformly dismissive of the performances. The New Indian Express found that Satyam Rajesh's comic timing sustained momentum and called the camera-only ghost a fine touch, while judging that Trisha could not quite pull off the title role because her character was superficially etched.[9](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2016/Sep/18/review-not-quite-the-nayaki-one-would-expect-1521089.html) The Telugu outlet Tupaki rated it 1.75 out of 5, listing Trisha's introduction sequence, Satyam Rajesh's comedy, and the first half among the positives and the screenplay among the weaknesses.[12](https://english.tupaki.com/entertainment/article/nayaki-movie-review/42216) In a 2020 retrospective, India Today reported that Trisha had declined to appear for the film's promotions.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/wahiyat-wednesday-trisha-s-horror-film-nayaki-is-a-slap-on-all-your-senses-1700886-2020-07-15)
The film belongs to the horror-comedy wave in [Tamil cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-cinema) that followed the Kanchana series, and reviewers grouped it with the many similar titles of the period; [Behindwoods](https://www.edgepedia.org/behindwoods) noted that Kollywood had seen an array of horror comedies and called this one yet another addition to the template.[13](https://www.mytelangana.com/movie-reviews/1493/nayaki-movie-review-rating) • [4](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/nayagi/nayagi-review.html)
## References
1. [Nayagi: The teaser of Trisha's horror-comedy is out!, India Today (18 March 2016)](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/nayagi-teaser-the-teaser-of-trishas-horror-comedy-is-out-313830-2016-03-18)
2. [Nayaki: Trisha is the hero of the film, says director Govi, India Today (4 July 2016)](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/nayaki-although-there-are-two-leads-trish-is-the-hero-of-the-film-says-director-govi-327190-2016-07-04)
3. [Wahiyat Wednesday: Trisha's horror film Nayaki is a slap on all your senses, India Today (15 July 2020)](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/wahiyat-wednesday-trisha-s-horror-film-nayaki-is-a-slap-on-all-your-senses-1700886-2020-07-15)
4. [Nayagi (aka) Nayaki review, Behindwoods](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/nayagi/nayagi-review.html)
5. [Nayaki Movie Review {1.5/5}, The Times of India (Tamil, 17 September 2016)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/nayaki/movie-review/54379831.cms)
6. [Nayaki (2016) full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5159412/fullcredits/)
7. [Nayagi movie details, eTimes, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-details/nayagi/movieshow/61292778.cms)
8. [Nayaki, Google Play Movies listing](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Nayaki?hl=en_US&id=25g5uXjAWRs)
9. [Review: Not quite the 'Nayaki' one would expect, The New Indian Express (18 September 2016)](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2016/Sep/18/review-not-quite-the-nayaki-one-would-expect-1521089.html)
10. [Nayaki Movie Review {1.5/5}, The Times of India (Telugu, 15 July 2016)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movie-reviews/nayaki-movie-review/movie-review/53228008.cms)
11. [Trisha's Nayaki gets postponed, The Times of India (10 July 2016)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/trishas-nayaki-gets-postponed/articleshow/53140568.cms)
12. [Movie Review: Nayaki, Tupaki (16 July 2016)](https://english.tupaki.com/entertainment/article/nayaki-movie-review/42216)
13. [Nayaki movie review & rating, MyTelangana](https://www.mytelangana.com/movie-reviews/1493/nayaki-movie-review-rating)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Tamil films of the 2010s › Tamil horror films of the 2010s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license