The long-awaited trailer of Suriya-Selvaraghavan's political thriller, Nandha Goplan Kumaran begins with a voiceover of people continuously chanting, "NGK!" and the opening visuals show Suriya waiting to cross a road crowded with people. The way this shot is framed seems to suggest that he is initially on the side of the politicians and is about to make his first step towards the people on the other side.
It is evident from the two-minute-long trailer that the actor plays a graduate, who aspires to make it big in politics, much like his previous role as Michael in Mani Ratnam's Ayutha Ezhuthu. NGK's mother warns him that politics is nothing but a cemetery, while people ridicule him for being upright. But, NGK chooses to rise above the negativity and begins his political career from ground zero saying, "Endha oru miga periya vishayama irundhalum adhoda aaniverr la irundhu aarambikradhu dhaan azhagu!" Interestingly, this dialogue where he talks about the 'beauty' in learning from scratch is followed by the shot of him sporting a drishti pottu.
While the teaser which had a shot of a wall filled with posters of big names in politics like Karunanidhi, EVR Periyar, CN Annadurai, MG Ramachandran, Soniya Gandhi, Advani, Manmohan Singh, and Vaiko, the trailer goes a step further and makes a direct reference to the furore that happened in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on December 18, over PM Modi's derogatory remark on Manmohan Singh during the campaign trail in Gujarat.
Selvaraghavan's films like Kadhal Konden, Mayakkam Yenna and 7G Rainbow Colony are known for having leads suffering from psychological disorders. The protagonist of NGK too is called a 'paithiyam'. However, this one seems hell-bent on bringing about a change in the political system in Tamil Nadu. Even his mother says, "Indha naatula ovvonum oru vidhamana paithiyam. Aana ivanuku indha naatu melaiye paithiyam."
(This story originally appeared on cinemaexpress.com)