Namma Oorina Rasikaru review: Brilliant cast presents a fun take on social injustice, casteism and more

3.5/5

Story: In the first season of Namma Oorina Rasikaru, director Nandita Yadav presents tales of love, relationships, greed, ego, revenge and more in Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar’s light-hearted style.

Review: The late Kannada litterateur Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar’s works were famed for his progressive views on socio-political issues of his times, few of which had very noteworthy cinematic adaptations, like Bhoothayana Maga Ayyu, Hemavathi and Urvashi. His collection of short stories, Namma Oorina Rasikaru, has been adapted into a 16-part web series, the first eight of which dropped on the new Kannada OTT platform, Katte Entertainment, today.

Namma Oorina Rasikaru unfolds in a quaint village in the pre-Independence era and follows the lives of its close-knit residents, a bunch of upper-caste families and their helps. Set at a time of rigid caste divides, and purists trying to hold on to age-old traditions, the residents of this village, though, have a more progressive world view and understand the need for reform in keeping with changing times. But this does not mean that Namma Oorina Rasikaru is a serious drama, instead, it uses humour to present these situations, be it the death of a family’s buffalo and their wish to bury it, the case of a young widow and her unwillingness to tonsure her head after her husband’s passing, or a respected Muslim man taking decisive action in a Brahmin-dominated village, etc.

Each episode, directed by Nandita Yadav, who made the award-winning Raju’s Medal earlier, is only about 25-minutes long, but it captures politics, relationships, casteism, etc., through the day-to-day life of the residents. Given the milieu that the stories are set in, it maybe difficult to relate to some of it, like an early shot of the village Jodidar doing a customary washing of his son-in-law’s feet upon his arrival, but it’s easy to overlook that, thanks to the wonderful cast that constitute the residents of this village. This is a cast of talent heavy-weights, including Mandya Ramesh, Rajesh Nataranga, BV Shrunga, B Suresha, P Sheshadri, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Sunetra Pandit, Sunder Veena, Sujay Shastry and Ramesh Pandit, among others; the best part of which is that they appear to be genuinely enjoying their roles, rather than just going with the motions, and that is what makes the show watchable. You can't really pick out any one, because each actor not only does justice to his or her role, but also supports the rest in the best possible manner.

Although I could not relate to the era and do not have in-depth knowledge of life back then and the practices followed, the series was intriguing enough to warrant an almost four-hour binge watch session.

Verdict: Namma Oorina Rasikaru is not for woke Gen Z, maybe even Gen-Y. That’s not to say that the earlier generation was the torchbearer of social injustice; rather, they were the ones who ushered in the change, which did not come easily. The freedoms and rights that youngsters today take for granted, came at great costs, and shows like Namma Oorina Rasikaru are a reminder of that, without being preachy.

Namma Oorina Rasikaru is currently streaming on Katte Entertainment.