A lady in green saree rushes to the dial-up telephone placed near a slanted, glass-panelled wall. “This is Latha’s elder sister speaking. That cobra came, fought with Latha and then she (cobra) turned into a snake!”
The person on the other end gasps “What?” The woman adds, “Latha who saw that has fainted!” to which the person responds, “I’m coming there immediately.”
If you chuckled at the incredulity of this exchange, let us tell you that this takes place in a 1979 Tamil movie that has spurned a whole series of television dramas, films and other pop culture extensions.
YouTube Screengrab iHeartTamil
Neeya? (use your most surprised tone if you’re reading out) starring Sri Priya, Kamal Haasan, Latha and a bevy of other stars can be called one of the earliest films with a female protagonist at the centre. But given that the genre, a fantasy thriller, is one among the few commonly earmarked genres for female leads in Tamil cinema (horror comedy is another example), it need not come as a total surprise.
We are introduced to Kamal, a researcher roaming the forests to find out about Ichadhari Nagam (shapeshifting snakes).
In one of the film's earliest scenes, Kamal is arguing with his friends, a six member gang with the most unoriginal names - Vijayakumar plays Vijay, ‘Venniradai’ Sreekanth plays Sree, Jaiganesh plays Jai, an unidentified actor plays Salim and Ravichandran plays Ravi - of the existence of a snake that can turn into a human at will.
He argues, “When Galileo said the Earth was round no one believed him. But when you read that a man has turned into a woman in the newspaper you’ll believe.” The far-fetched idea of a magical snake was more believable in Neeya?’s world than the acceptance of a trans person but these are pertinent issues that we may have to overlook while watching a film that was made four decades ago.
And so is the scene in which Jai, the atheist, turns into a believer when shown the “power” of an amulet, the film’s frequently occurring passionate dances with skimpy clothed women and also the exchange between Vijay and his lover Usha played by his real wife Manjula, the only character with a different name than her real one. Naga Rani, who has taken Usha’s form, squirms when the amulet-wearing Vijay comes closer. To keep him away she reasons, “I may be studying in a foreign country but I will be living in Tamil Nadu, won’t I? We can get intimate after getting married.”
The dialogue has the desired effect. Vijay removes his amulet and Naga Rani kills him.
The story of Neeya? is a modern day what-if based on mythology. A voice-over before the opening credits tells us the story of the ‘Ichadhari Nagam’ a descendant from the mythical Kalinga, a snake daemon who was slayed by Krishna. Before Kalinga dies, he asks for a boon - for him to be able to take human and snake forms. Thus was born the magical snake, capable of transforming into a human at will.
It so happens that Kamal, the film’s other protagonist, not just meets but saves an Ichadhari male - Naga Raja played by Telugu star Chandramohan - from being killed by a vulture.
Having seen what he’s seen, Kamal is only too eager to reveal the secret to his friends. The very same night, Salim shoots the male who’s happily and lustily on his way to mate with his female soulmate - Naga Rani played by Sri Priya.
Tragedy strikes and a furious Naga Rani vows to decimate the gang. The rest of the film is how she kills them one after the other and if she succeeds in eliminating them all.
YouTube Screengrab iHeartTamil
The revenge of the lover is not a new idea. The story gets more powerful especially if it is a woman going after blood. Neeya? manages to tell it all with a good dose of fantasy, glamour and lots of cliches that were probably novel in the '70s.
The film in Tamil was actually remade from the Hindi original Nagin that released in 1976. Later in 1977, Devathalara Deevinchandi, its Telugu version, was made. Naagini TV soaps today still continue to entertain scores of Indians who either believe in the existence of the Ichadhari or find them perfectly engaging.
It is also said that the film borrows its story from François Truffaut's film The Bride Wore Black, based on Cornell Woolrich's novel of the same name. The 1968 French film was a revenge drama in which a widowed woman hunts and kills the five men who killed her husband on her wedding day.
With Neeya?, it is difficult to see past the metaphor of a snake indicating passion and lust. In almost all her kills, Naga Rani uses the man's lust to her advantage.
But there are two things that will haunt you hours after the film has ended - Sri Priya’s cool grey eyes and the extremely catchy ‘oooooooo’ bit that comes before the ‘Orae jeevan ondre ullam’ theme song in the film.
Four decades later, debut director L Suresh is reviving the memory of this cult classic with Neeya 2 starring Jai, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Raai Laxmi and Catherine Tresa. It remains to be seen if the film is worth our times.