Nathicharami

Nathicharami is a 2018 Indian Kannada-language film written by Sandhya Rani,   directed by Manjunatha Somashekara Reddy (Mansore) and produced by M. Ramesh, under the banner Tejaswini Enterprises. Jaganmohan Reddy and Shivkumar Reddy are the other producers. The music of the film is scored by Bindhu Malini. The film stars Sruthi Hariharan and Sanchari Vijay with Sharanya, Poornachandra Mysore, Balaji Manohar and Gopal Deshpande in key roles. The sound design is done by Mahavir Sabbanavar and cinematography by Guruprasad Narnad. Manasa Mustafa has designed the costumes for the film.

The film had its world premiere in the India Story category and was nominated for the Oxfam Best film on Gender Equality Award at the 20th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.

Nathicharami won five awards at the 66th National film awards in 2019. Best Female Playback Singer went to Bindhu Malini for the song Mayaavi Manave, Best Lyrics for Manjunath S for the same song and Best Editing went to Nagendra K Ujjani. The movie also won the award for Best Feature Film in Kannada. Shruthi Hariharan got Special Mention for Best Actress for her performance. The film was remade in Malayalam as Neeraja (2023).

Synopsis
Nathicharami is about Gowri whose life is perplexed between her physical desires and emotional beliefs. The film narrates the struggles of the protagonist in a society that believes physical desires can only be followed by a nuptial. She is stuck in her ordinary life with people from her daily life pattern who talk about their notions that are in contrary to the other. Finally, when she feels that she has overcome her ambiguity, the situation takes a leap. The film also brings the audience's attention towards the nuances women from different walks of life face.

Soundtrack
The film's score and soundtracks are composed by Bindhu Malini.

Reception
Sunayana Suresh of The Times of India gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Nathicharami is different, bold and relevant. It talks about desires and yet discusses the idea of consent. The film is definitely a step towards more gender sensitive cinema that is required in the industry." Jagadish Angadi of the Deccan Herald gave it a rating of 3.5 out of 5, noting that "the film's psychological and physical explorations remain incomplete. It is reduced to the status of an adult art movie. The lack of a background score in many scenes affects the cinematic experience."

Aravind Shwetha of The News Minute gave it a positive review and wrote, "The movie is a must-watch, if you can sit through the slow pace."

Prathima Nandakumar of The Week gave it a rating of 3.5 out of 5, noting that "Nathicharami is a thought-provoking movie, slow-paced, yet engaging."