''Burqa'' is a 2023 Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

-language film written and directed by

Sarjun KM Sarjun KM is an Indian film director and writer who works in the Tamil cinema industry. He made his directorial feature film debut with '' Echcharikkai – Idhu Manidhargal Nadamaadum Idam'' (2018). Career Sarjun's career was launched after ...

. It stars

Kalaiyarasan Kalaiyarasan Harikrishnan (born 20 February 1986) is an Indian actor, who works in the Tamil film industry along with few Malayalam films. He has collaborated with directors Mysskin and Pa. Ranjith, with whom he worked in ''Madras'' (2014) for ...

and

Mirnaa Menon Mirnaa Menon is an Indian actress who acts in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She started her film career as Adhiti Menon and debuted in the 2016 Tamil film ''Pattathaari''. After appearing in the Malayalam film, '' Big Brother'' (2020) and ...

in the lead roles. The movie was premiered at the

New York Indian Film Festival The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in New York City, and screens films relating to India, the Indian Diaspora, and the work of Indian filmmakers. The festival began in November 2001 and was foun ...

and was nominated under Best Film, Best Actor and Best Actress categories.

Plot

''Burqa'', is set against the backdrop of a Muslim ritual that revolves around 21-year-old recently widowed Najma (Mirnaa), who meets an injured stranger, Surya (Kalaiyarasan), under unlikely circumstances. Najma, who is a nurse by education, was married two months ago through arranged marriage. Her husband is a nice man who warms up to her and they start to like each other. They plan for their honeymoon to consummate their wedding, but the husband dies in a road accident. She is put in a mourning period for 3 months where she should not meet any other man. On a night in the second week of the mourning period, she is alone in her house when an injured man Surya knocks on her door. Grudgingly she tends to him and realizes that he is a goon for a Hindu fanatic party. She refuses to show her face to him, and Surya is forced to stay in for two days due to curfew outside. They have a long discussion about religion, gender and equality.

Cast

as Surya *

as Najma * G. M. Kumar as Vaapa * Suriyanarayanan as Anwar

Reception

Chandhini R critic of ''

Cinema Express ''Cinema Express'' was an Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language entertainment fortnightly magazine published from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was a part of The New Indian Express, The New Indian Express Group, which also publishes ''Samakalika Mal ...

'' wrote that "''Burqa'' is a film that not just creates room for a discussion on progressiveness and liberation, but also reflects on the hard-hitting reality of how it is not easy to change or rather accept change" and gave 3 stars out of 5. Gopinath Rajendran critic of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' said "The change in tones and the intensity of fieriness in the words exchanged between them, though not exactly coherent, break the monotony of Burqa which could’ve easily slid into the ‘this meeting could’ve been an e-mail’ category." Haricharan Pudipeddi critic of ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...

'' stated that "Unlike most Tamil films, Burqa plays out like a conversational drama and it works beautifully in the film’s favour. Even though the film discusses issues like religion, faith and cultural practices among others, it never feels it’s trying hard to leave an impact". ''

OTTplay HT Media is an Indian mass media company based in Delhi. It has holdings in print, electronic and digital media. HT Media's flagship newspaper is the ''Hindustan Times'', the second most widely read English newspaper in India after ''The Times of ...

'' critic noted that "Burqa is one of those films that reminds you that one doesn't have to be strong to brace through the loss of a loved one. You can be weak; feel powerless and still, move on with life. The process, in itself, will empower you. Amid mediocre big-budget films that choke theatres every Friday, I'm glad that I caught Burqa, which provided me with a sense of fulfilment" and gave 4 out 5 stars

Release

Burqa joined Aha's library of films and premiered on their platform on 6 April 2023.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=tt15722480, title=Burqa 2023 films 2020s Tamil-language films 2020s Indian films Aha (streaming service) original films Indian drama films Indian interfaith romance films Films about Islam Films about Hinduism Indian feminist films Two-handers Hijab Films about widowhood in India Films about road accidents and incidents Films about religious violence in India