Namaslay - Movie Review

The Movie: Namaslay

The Director: Kanish Arhant-Sudhir, Rish Arhant-Sudhir

The Cast: Kiru Srikanth, Usha Krishnan, Christina Moore, Angela Sant’Albano

The Story: A reimagining of masala cinema, Namaslay is a pyroclastic, genre-smashing horror satire that eviscerates the appropriation of Yoga in the West—proving culture is the blood that keeps the dead alive.

The Rating: 5 / 10

The Review:

Sometimes when I see a movie and I'm not enjoying it, I can get frustrated because I can usually see where there could or should have been a good movie hidden in there somewhere and it makes me wonder about the filmmaking process. Making movies is not an easy thing to do by any means or under any circumstances and I always have the utmost respect for people who decide to take on a project that, in most cases, come from a true labor of love.

I really wanted to like this movie and gave it every chance that I could but the execution across the board just wasn't there for me. It definitely has the feel of one of those random movies you run across at a film festival and you applaud the creators for the effort they put in to just get it out there even if it isn't something you could see breaking out of that type of setting. I kind of wish I had watched the movie at or during a film festival, I may have enjoyed it a little more with that sort of mindset going in. Not sure if that makes sense, but it's a thing. 

My number one issue with the story is that it takes 45 minutes, almost half the movie's run time, to set everything up and, by then, I was pretty much checked out to the point where the rest of it never really had a chance. Seriously, the first half of the movie could have been told in about 15 minutes and then the rest could have been a much different and better movie, at least what I imagine it could have been. It does make me wonder how much budget limitations played a factor in how the movie was put together and that could also just be me trying to find excuses for the filmmakers because I had been really hopeful going in.

There's a lot of messaging in the story about women's empowerment, family connections, and holding on to cultural traditions which was really nice to see so I will give credit to the filmmakers for wanting to create something meaningful. The relationship between Gayatri and her mother Paati, played by Kiru Srikanth and Usha Krishnan respectively, is probably the main highlight of the movie and where a lot of the emotional impact is drawn from. I just wish the overall finished product was a lot better than it turned out to be. Thanks for reading the review!