Picture this: Nayanthara is about to marry Vignesh Shivan in 10 days. Unlike other bridezillas, she’s totally chill, doodling away, lost in her thoughts, and oblivious to the wedding planning happening around her. That is until it lands on her that she cannot have the Tirupati wedding she dreamt of. She pauses what she’s doing, dramatically gets up, and walks away for peace and quiet.

When a 1-hour-20-minute documentary begins like that, you expect chaos to follow. It doesn’t. Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale on Netflix promises to reveal the person behind the superstar, the true story behind the legend, and the bare-it-all story of a woman from Kerala who beat all odds to become one of the biggest stars in South India.

Instead, you get a tale of how anything is possible for the Lady Superstar - almost like a masala movie script. If not for Tirupati, she will find a way to celebrate her love in Chennai. If she’s fat-shamed, she will wear a bikini in her next film to prove a point. But I’ve gotten ahead of myself.

Nayanthara - the actor and superstar

Parvathy Thiruvothu says at one point, “Right now, being a boss babe is a cool thing. She did it at a time when all that was akin to witchcraft. I don’t know how she cracked it. And for me to say, you did it, and you did it alone.” The issue is that at the end of the documentary, you still don't know how she cracked it.

The documentary briefly touches on topics such as sexism in the workplace, relationships, and the perils of being a woman in a glamorous industry. Still, Nayanthara never reveals anything beyond what is already known to the public. Why did Diana Mariam Kurian agree to be Nayanthara in the first place? Her mother, Omana Kurian, says she was studying to be a chartered accountant.

Sathyan Anthikad, who directed her debut film Manassinakkare, says, “I feel like Nayanthara’s entry into cinema was by fate or God’s decision.” He saw a picture of her on the cover of Vanitha that impressed him, launching her on this path. But while Nayanthara admittedly didn’t watch many films growing up, we aren’t offered anything beyond the fact that ‘she wanted to act in films’.

Can women have it all?

This issue permeates the documentary, no matter what the topic. An often debated subject is whether women can have it all but not simultaneously. Nayanthara wants to prove otherwise with her happy marriage to Vignesh, babies Uyir and Ulag, and a successful career in multiple film industries.

She wants to say that you might find love in the most unsuspecting place, and your career might skyrocket after a forced hiatus. But there’s little depth offered for you to root for the heroine. The only side of Nayanthara shown is the one that seemingly loves unconditionally, calls her mother thrice a day no matter how busy she is and cares for her ailing father.

The Nayanthara who was fat-shamed for her outfits in the 2008 film Ghajini, who received backlash for playing Sita in the 2011 film Sri Rama Rajyam, the one who was written off before her ‘comeback’ with 2013's Raja Rani is seen only briefly. She persevered, but where did that strength come from? Her mother credits God.

The oddities of love

Nayanthara discusses three relationships. The first one, Nagarjuna interjects, was so ‘turbulent’ that calls from her beau would leave her feeling down. “We would all dread her phone ringing,” he says, talking about shooting with her in Switzerland for 2006's Boss. “I remember asking her, why are you doing this to yourself? You’re an accomplished lady,” he adds.

Nayanthara defines it as one based on ‘trust more than love’, trusting that he loves her as much as she loves him. Before she delves further, she digresses, questioning why the men weren’t ever questioned. How come it was just her who was talked about? The second one, she says, asked her to quit films in 2011. “It was the man who told me to quit cinema. It wasn’t like I had an option. I was told to leave, and I agreed,” she says.

The past is in the past, but even when talking about the moment she fell for Vignesh on set, there's never an ‘aha’ moment of relief that she finally found the one. Nayanthara describes him as ‘cute’ and says they could ‘talk differently’. She hints at the ‘stress’ of not being sure if they should date, and Vignesh talks about how his ‘focus’ was only on his debut film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan.

“He didn’t meet me initially. I asked him to meet me, and it took him a month,” she says, without delving much into what they went through then. She says they just ‘knew’ they were in love when they met again.

The peek behind the curtain

The documentary's best portions are when Nayanthara and Vignesh lay bare their vulnerabilities, even showing their humorous side. Director Nelson Dilipkumar reveals Vignesh would call him, telling him he wanted to leave whenever the couple fought, only for them to be back together and pretend like nothing happened the next day.

“Angelina Jolie was also interested, but I said no because she’s not south Indian. What is that question?” jokes Vignesh when asked why he said yes to Nayanthara – she took the first step in their relationship. His humour peeks through later, too, when he admits to his now-wife he doesn’t like the ‘bench’ they’re sitting on and questioning her interior decorating skills, only to receive a whack on his neck from her under the guise of killing a mosquito.

Vignesh gets emotional and defensive when discussing an offensive meme on their relationship, asking why a ‘beauty’ can’t choose the ‘beast’. As for when he finds her pouting about missing out on the Tirupati wedding, he reminds her, “When it comes to us, nothing is easy. Even if we have to step out for a meal, do you think we can do it? No, right? This is a wedding. Did you think getting married in Tirupati would be so easy?”

If only Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale truly dared to show us more of such moments and of Diana to do justice to the phoenix that is Nayanthara. She has soared through personal and professional hurdles; there's no doubt about that. The real story is in decoding how she emerged on top rather than telling us what we already know.

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