Honganasu - Audio

Hongansu - Audio

Starring :Prem Kumar, Any Mehata, Naveen Krishna
Music : Hamsalekha
Lyrics : Hamsalekha
Producer : Ajay R Gowda
Director : Rathanaja

Lagge Lagge Sahyadrige sung by Chitra and Karthik is a fast number describing sahyadri ranges. Karthik is good to hear. Good music.

Kuvari Kuvari sung by Rajesh Krishnan is once again fast number with nice words describing a girl. Typical Hamsalekha style. Great rendition by Rajesh.

Baa Nagu Nannondige sung by Vijay Yesudas and Chitra is a Malayalam mix song. Good to hear Chitra and Vijay Yesudas!

Honganasu, the title song sung by Shaan is quite melodious. Shaan carries the song well. Pleasant one to hear.

Chigurodeda sung by Shreya Ghoshal is a cool melodious song with good lyrics. Shreya is asusual good. Good Fusion of classical and western styles.

Kandu Konde sung by Hemanth Kumar and Shreya Ghoshal is a nice duet with good lyrics. Reminds of old Hamsalekha hits.

More concentration towards lyrics and words than music by Hamsalekha for a couple of songs. Thats my opinion. But its a good album!

Gooli - Audio

Gooli - Audio

Starring : Sudeep, Mamatha Mohandas
Music : Anoop Seelin
Lyrics : P Satya
Producer : Ramu
Director : P Satya

Sum Sumne Yaako sung by Nanditha and Karthik is a good duet. Music is pleasant but resembles Ilayaraja style. Lyrics are simple and pleasing.

Kaddu Kaddu sung by Rajesh Krishnan and Chitra is a sensuous duet. Lyrics are good and music suits the mood of the song.

Gooli sung by Rajesh Krishnan is a drunkard number. Mostly suited for Sudeep's image n role in the movie. Rajesh is as usual good.

Jeevana Hudukuta sung by Hariharan is a slow song with good lyrics. Hariharan is good!

Dealige Dealu sung by Shankar Mahadevan, Chitra, P. Satya and Sudeep is one more song about rowdyism and love with male and female portraying their view. Very plain! Shankar Mahadevan sings well. This song will surely remind 'Hodi Maga'.

Again..... an average album.

Bindaas - Audio

Bindaas - Audio

Starring : Puneeth Rajkumar, Hansika Motwani
Music : Gurukiran
Producer : M Chandrashekar
Director : D Rajendra Babu

Gubbachi Goodinalli ,Udit Narayan, Soumya Rao,Lyrics : Kaviraj

Soumya Rao is back! So Nice to hear her! Udit - plz improve your pronounciation! Simple lyrics!Gurukiran's tunes seem to be repetitive.

Bindaas,Puneeth Rajkumar, Lyrics : V. Nagendra Prasad

Good song to listen about leading life "bindaas" mix of bhangra beats gives a different touch

Kallu Mama , Gurukiran, Sonu Kakkar,Lyrics : Kaviraj

Sounds like an item number. Has resemblances to the style used in "Bin Laden Nan Mava"Sonu Kakkar's voice suits the song. Gurukiran as usual croons ..... no need to say how

Nalle Nalle O Nalle, Karthik, Mathangi,Lyrics : Kaviraj

Karthik and Mathangi infuse life into this peppy dance number. Not much to be said about lyrics.

Tara Tara Ontara, Shaan,Lyrics : Kaviraj

Want to listen Kannada in English accent? Listen to this! Shaan is good at his work.Mix of hip-hop n rap styles. Good one by Guru.

One more ok-ok album by Gurukiran!

Gaalipata - Audio

Gaalipata

Yograj Bhat’s next movie “Gaalipata” with music composed by Harikrishna doesn’t impress much though it has 2-3 hummable songs.

The title track “Aakasha Ishte Yaakidiyo” with Jayant Kaikini’s lyrics and Tippu and Kunal Ganjawala’s vocals is a youthful number with fast pacy music. Both the playback singers infuse life into the song. Quite catchy!

"Minchaagi Neenu Baralu” sung by Sonu Nigam and lyrics by Jayant Kaikini reminds us of “Anisutide”. What impresses is the unconventional lyrics and good rendition by Sonu. The best song of the album I feel.

“Nadhimdhim Tanananaa” sung by Chitra with lyrics by Yograj Bhat is a semi-classical number which leaves a feel good feeling because of Chitra.

“Kavithe” sung by Vijay Prakash and lyrics by Hrudayashiva is a patho song. Too slow and a bit boring to listen.

“Jeeva Kaleva” sung by Sonu Nigam and lyrics by Yograj Bhatt is a slow number depicting the loneliness. Tune of Minchaagi Neenu Baralu…

“Aha Bedaru Bombe” sung by Udit Narayan and Anuradha Sriram and lyrics by Jayant Kaikini is a duet which could have presented better. It starts off well but fails to impress after the second stanza.

On the whole its an average album.

________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for all the views and reviews about the review :) I would always take any album without any comparision and expectation. So even Gaalipata I would take without comparision with Mungaaru Male or any other album/music director.

Minchaagi has been picturized well. Its not that great as compared to Anisutide in Mungaaru Male. Keepin Anisutide apart, this song has come out really well with innovative sets on the beach, the fort and on the lush green hills.

Lets wait for other songs. Surely the good team would have added more to the songs visually. All the best to Gaalipata team! I'm sure no other movie in Kannada in the recent times has evoked so much interest and expectations. Hope Yogaraj Bhatt will live up to these expectations of WE- the Kannadigas.

Jab We Met – Truly Entertaining

Jab We Met – Truly Entertaining

One more instance wherein a old story has been given a good treatment and presented in a wonderful way. Truly, the story of Jab We Met isn’t anything new!! Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (or Walk in The Clouds) and some more movies you can surely remember after watching this entertainer. What captures us is the execution of the simple and old plot and the truly electrifying performances by Kareena and Shahid.

The story starts with Aditya (Shahid), an influential businessman who is in a bad mood after he has lost his father and also his girl! Unable to bear that his girl is getting married, he leaves home and almost like a zombie roams around and gets into the train which goes to Delhi without even a ticket. Just then destiny strikes and Geet (Kareena) who is on her way to Bhatinda after finishing her studies gets on the same train. Geet is extremely talkative and at times annoyingly loud but yet simple that’s what we could get from her introduction scene. These two souls (as they call them in the trailors) have to be together for the journey. Rest of the first half is about how Aditya tries to avoid her and how she clings on to him after she misses the train due to him and challenges him that it would be he who would take her to her home in Bhatinda. During the course she even tells him about her plans of eloping with her boyfriend after she reaches Bhatinda. The next part of the movie is truly entertaining wherein they both reach Bhatinda after traveling through the whole of north India and getting to know each other. She even comes to know that Aditya is the son of a rich businessman whose mother had left her husband for her lover.

Once they reach her home in Bhatinda, her family suspects them of being lovers which they believe firmly after Geet escapes to Manali to join her boyfriend with Aditya who helps her do so. Once Aditya leaves Geet at Manali, he feels he loves her but cannot express it but he feels her mannerisms have filled him with freshness and enthusiasm to return to Mumbai and improve his business. Thus he returns leaving Geet and succeeds in resurrecting his business. Geet’s parents come to Mumbai after they see Aditya on TV and ask him about Geet. Aditya promises them that he would get Geet back to them and sets off to Manali in search of her. He has to face some surprises there as her boyfriend denies of having married Geet and frantically searches for Geet there. When he finally traces her down, he is surprised to see a different Geet who is broken, sober and sad unlike the one whom he had left.

As promised to her parents, Aditya convinces Geet to return home with her boyfriend who agrees to marry her. But when all the three reach home, they are surprised to see that Aditya and Geet are treated as husband and wife and the family is preparing for their traditional marriage. Whats in store next is simple. Aditya and Geet who have been friends till now and realize that their friendship has got a new meaning now.

Shahid has given a wonderful performance. He has emoted well in the sentimental sequences and has given the right touch to the comic ones. Kareena has given her best performance till date as the bubbly girl. Her confidence and charm is evident in her apt portrayal of Geet. Other performances like that of Pawan Malhotra as Geet’s uncle and Dara Singh are just ok.

Music is the other highlight of the movie. We are taken to the sentimental world with “Tum Se Hi”, to a mystic Manali world with “Yeh Ishq Hai”, a truly Punjabi world with “Nagaada” and finally to the josh number “Mauja Hi Mauja”. Good work by Pritam. Good cinematography adds to the presentation of these songs on-screen.

Hats off to Imtiaz Ali for balancing comedy and emotions. Also his presentation of the characters and execution of the plot are commendable. Though the screenplay takes a beating in the second half, its truly a great and applaudable effort. He strikes well in the comedy part!!

A nice family entertainer!!

Geleya - Youthful Venture

Geleya

One more offering of this week “Geleya” with debutant director Harsha is based on present day underworld of Bengalooru. The other movie released this week “Aa Dinagalu” told similar story set in the mid 1980s gave us the authentic touch of what underworld is. This movie is set in the backdrop of friendship between two people. While “Aa Dinagalu” told it in a non-bloody way, this movie has bloodshed. Geleya would be surely liked for its narration and good performance of Prajwal. The mostly young crew of this movie gives the movie a youthful and slick looks.

It is the story of Vishwa (Tarun Chandra) and Guru (Prajwal Devraj) who land in Bengalooru to escape from getting caught after Guru injures the son of their village head when he talks ill about his best friend for life Vishwa. Vishwa has always helped Guru in getting him whatever he wants. Once they land in Bengalooru, Guru is mesmerized by the money involved in rowdyism and hatches a plan wherein he and Vishwa land up as two most trusted people of the two rival gangs – one belonging to Bhandari (Kishore) and Jayanna respectively. Guru gets involved in the underworld activities and is drawn away from Vishwa and his friendship after Guru kills Jayanna in front of Vishwa. Vishwa is made as the leader of the gang now and he seeks revenge upon Guru since Vishwa treated Jayanna as a fatherly figure. Vishwa in turn now kills Jayanna and Guru becomes the leader of that gang. Thus a gangwar breaks down between them which leads to lots of bloodbath. Even Vishwa’s wife Nandini (Kirat Bhattal) who is their childhood friend tries to bring truce between them but fails. Fed up of their gangwars, the Bengalooru police department appoints a tough cop Vijay (Duniya Vijay) to handle the case. He launches a war of encounters against the members of the gang and starts eliminating them. What happens to them and their friendship? Will they come back together? Watch on screen!!!

Prajwal after his debut in Sixer proves that he is well equipped to handle intense roles as well. His body language, emotions and dialogue delivery leave a great impact. Tarun after Khushi is good in the serious role. The heroine Kirat Bhattal is good looking but seriously needs acting lessons. Rangayana Raghu as the mediator between the two gangs is okay. Bullet Prakash impresses with his timely comedy. Vijay is good as the tough cop who can do anything to eliminate crime. Pooja Gandhi and Rakhi Sawant are present as “item” girls.

The movie has all the elements a good commercial venture should have – good script, the pace of the screenplay, good camerawork, good music, slick editing and good direction to top it up. Preetam Gubbi with good screenplay is impressive. Great camerawork by Krishna gives a great impact. Espicially in the song “Ee Sanje Yaakaagide” wherein he is said to have used the 435 Hawk Camera is simply a treat to watch. Hats off to this cameraman who is giving something new to us in each movie – first the new look Jog in Mungaru Male and this new look song shot at Rameshwaram. Music by “Manoo”(??) Murthy is impressive. Editing is slick and impressive. Background score adds to the feel of the movie but at places it reminded me of “Gandha Hai Par Dhanda Hai Yeh” from Company.

Harsha as the captain of the movie and choreographer gives a youthful touch to the movie. He has got his actors do their best. He surely is a promising newcomer. But he is a bit unconvincing at the point where the two guys get into their respective gangs so easily with so many people hanging around with guns and weapons. This made a mockery of underworld gang lords wherein they are depicted as being very sentimental. Commercial venture!!!

Bloopers: Me and almost everyone sitting beside me in the theatre noticed the wrong spelling of the word Commissioner which is spelt as “commisioner” on the table. :-)

Aa Dinagalu – Good Effort

Aa Dinagalu – Good Effort

Based on Agni Sridhar’s book “Dadagiriya Dinagalu”, this movie depicts the events that took place during the last days of Bangalore underworld don Kotwal Ramachandra during 1985. Debutant director Chaitanya succeeds in telling an underworld related story without any bloodshed. May be other directors can take a cue from him for making movies without machchus, longs which endup in lots of bloodshed meaninglessly.

Chetan (Chetan) is the son of a wealthy businessman Girish Naik (Girish Karnad) is in love with a dance teacher Mallika (Archana Shastry), but Girish Naik doesn’t like this and hires the then don of Bangalore Kotwal Ramachandra(Sharath Lohitashwa) to separate lovers. Kotwal himself is leading a battle for supremacy in Bangalore against the old don Jairaj (Ashish Vidyarthi) who is released from jail after 10 years and is struggling to get back his lost empire. Chetan gets to know of his father’s intentions and in the pretext of getting his lady love, unknowingly falls into the trap of underworld and offers Jairaj to help kill Kotwal. The rest of the story is about how this is achieved with lots of twists, deception, switching loyalties, the police making use of their rivalry to elimante one of the dons, etc., finally ending up in Kotwal’s murder by Chetan and his aides. What is appreciated in all these is that there is hardly any bloodshed unlike other gory underworld and rowdy theme based movies.

Chetan impresses as the hero who can do anything to get his love, but he fails to emote rightly in many sequences. Archana is good and impresses with her innocence and portrayal of a traumatized lover. It is Sharat Lohitashwa who plays Kotwal Ramachandra who steals the show with the right expressions and body language as the don. Ashish Vidyarthi as Jairaj is good. Atul Kulkarni is brilliant as the learned rowdy and impresses with his great mannerisms. Girish Karnad is good as the desparate father who wants his son to forget his love and can do anything to stop him from marrying her.

Agni Sridhar and Girish Karnad’s screenplay is good with some great moments on screen. But the story pace is slow and drags during the second half. The film which has been edited well could have been trimmed by atleast half an hour. Cinematography by H C Venu is good. Ilayaraja’s music is pleasing. Background music is good in parts but it fails to catch up with the high-drama involved.

Chaitanya’s direction is good and he has put lots of efforts to get the best out of everyone in the movie. The authenticity in the looks of the dons and the right look and feel for year 1985 are the highlights. But some minor details like the straightened and colored hair for some characters look out of period. Also are some dress combinations which were not existent in the 80s. But these are minor and go unnoticed due to the way he has presented the story of “Dadagiriya Dinagalu”. He truly shows promise amongst the present young brigand of directors. What is appreciated in Chaitanya’s work is he has presented the movie in a pleasant form with no traces of blood even though it is a rowdy and underworld related movie. This would ensure that even family audience will be drawn towards the theatre.

Bhool Bhulaiyya

Bhool Bhulaiyya

You might have seen the original movie Manichitrathaazu in Malayalam and had admired Shobhana (who had won national award for her performance) and Mohan Lal. Decades later you would have seen the same movie in remade in Kannada as Aptamitra wherein Soundarya gave one of her best performances in Kannada with Vishnuvardhan playing the lead. The hit parade continued and the same movie was remade in Tamil and Telugu as Chandramukhi with Rajnikanth playing the lead and Jyotika in the role played by Shobhana in the original. Cut to 2007 and Priyadarshan brings to you the same tale to the Hindi audiences with Bhool Bhulaiyya starring Akshay Kumar, Shiney Ahuja, Vidya Balan, Amisha Patel, Paresh Rawal etc.,

For any south Indian who has watched the movie in their respective state languages, the story of the movie isn’t necessary to be told I believe. But for others here it goes in brief. The film revolves around a small village/town where the people are very conservative and superstitious. Badri (Manoj Joshi) heads a Brahmin family whose ancestral palace is believed to be haunted. One day, Siddharth (Shiny Ahuja) and Avni (Vidya Balan), the son and daughter-in-law of Badri's elder brother return to their native village from America and decide to settle down for a month in their ancestral palace. Events take on a twist when Avni opens a locked forbidden room. As a result, unnatural events start taking place inside the palace. Badri and Batuk Shankar (Paresh Rawal) try to ward off the evil eye with the help of a priest and a parapsychologist. The blame comes to rest squarely on Radha (Amisha Patel), Badri's adopted daughter. Siddharth brings in his American friend, psychiatrist Dr. Aditya Shrivastav (Akshay Kumar), who uses modern analytical techniques to find out the culprit and solve the mystery.

Interesting inded! Having seen the one of the movies, any person would compare the present one with them. But Priyadarshan doesnt let down anyone. The movie has got the best treatment it could have got. He has given his touch to the movie by putting in comedy which goes very well with the story. He gets the best out of all his comedians in the movie. Paresh Rawal. Rajpal Yadav and Asrani handle the comedy part very well till Akshay’s entry. Once Akshay enters, its fully he who overshadows others with his right timing and punching dialogues. And Priyan has managed the plot well to interlace the comedy tracks with the main track. Shiney has given a good performance as Siddharth. Vidya Balan is pleasant to watch and is good with her acting. She has shown that she isn’t just a one film wonder. Akshay Kumar is at his best with his good timing sense for comedy and emotes well when he has to help out his friend in solving the mystery. Paresh Rawal’s comedy would be remembered for a long time for sure. Rasika Joshi as Paresh’s wife is impressive and evokes lots of laughter with comic sense. Rajpal Yadav is just ok. Amisha Patel has given a controlled performance(!!) Vikram Gokhale as the priest who chips in to help to ward off the ghost is good. Vineeth is good when it comes to classical dancing and he complements well with Vidya in the penultimate climax scene.

Priyan has decided to get away with only three songs in the movie thus not hindering the narration at any point. ‘Labon Pe’, ‘Allah Hafiz’ and ‘Mere Dholna’ are the three songs which come in the movie at the right time. Mere Dholna is a nice classical number with good choreography. Labon Pe is a romantic number and has been shot well. The main attraction – the title track only comes during the titles at the end since it was made for promotion purposes. And that song makes us sit till the credits roll and lights fade off. Music by Pritam is good. Background music by Ranjit Barot haunts at times. S.Thiru has shot the movie well in picturizing the haunted palace with different shades and colors suiting the scenes and the mood. The screenplay is good but it runs a bit slow during the second half.

Priyan again proves that he is good in comedy and does not go overboard anywhere. Though he has changed the story at places to suit the different region of audiences, he succeeds in keeping up the tempo and the suspense.

A good watchable movie for full funny and some scary moments. Watch it for Akshay, Paresh and Vidya Balan's performances. Don’t miss it!! But watch it without comparing with its original and the remakes in other languages.

Chanda (2007)

Chanda - Audio

Starring - Vijay, Shubha Poonja
Music - S. Narayan
Lyrics - S. Narayan
Director - S. Narayan
Producer - S. Narayan

"Kala Samraat" S Narayan is back after the successful "Cheluvina Chittara" with Duniya star Vijay. Here he not only directs the movie but also produces, writes lyrics and composes music also.

Hogonammi sung by Karthik and Chitra is a nice duet to hear with a touch of jaanapada. Karthik has sung the song very well.

Hogu Manase hogu by Chitra is a patho song. Lyrics are good but sometimes the music seems more loud. The male version of the same is song by Madhubalakrishna. His voice reminded me of Yesudas' voice.

Nee Chandaane by Kumar Sanu and Shreya Ghoshal is a lively duet. Its been long time since we heard Kumar Sanu's nasal voice in Kannada. Here he comes again!!! Shreya is just ok. Lyrics are not that good and also they areovershadowed by the loud music.

Savi Savi by Shaan and Chitra has good music and lyrics. Shaan sings the song well with the right feelings but he needs to improve his pronounciation. Chitra is at her usual best. At times this reminded me of Pade Pade Nenapaade from Rama Shyama Bhama.

Yenayto Nangenayto sung by Kunal Ganjawala and Shreya Ghoshal is a good duet. Music in fast pace light up the mood of the song.

Gundene Dyavru sung by L N Shastry is one more gundu number. Great singing by L N Shastry who brings the right drunkard feeling to the song. Would be a nice song to watch.

Ee Bandhana - Audio

Ee Bandhana - Audio

Audio Released by Anand Audio

Music : Mano Murthy

Producers : Jai Jagadeesh, Vijayalakshmi Singh

Screenplay-Direction : Vijayalakshmi Singh

One more Vishnuvardhan starrer and a remake (probably) of Big-B starrer "Baghban" with Jayaprada playing Hema Malini's role. It was fully sentimental movie which explored the love, affection and togetherness of an elderly couple who expect that they would be taken care of by their children when they are old and helpless but later realize that they have to lead their life their own way. This they do with the help of their adopted son. The main protagonist of the movie played by Big B in Hindi disowns his own children and decides to stay with his adopted son after they try to woo him once he gets lots of money after publishing his story. Got to wait and see how Dr. Vishnuvardhan does justice to this powerful role. Also Hema Malini had complemented well as his other half. Here we have "mohaka taare" Jayaprada coming together with Vishnu after a long gap (last time we saw them together was in Himapaata and Habba). Though a remake, this script has a great potential to reach our audiences also because of the family values it portrays. Music was a great highlight in the original version. Here we have Mano Murthy!!

Ade Bhoomi Ade Baanu by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal is melodious with poetic lyrics by Jayant Kaikini. The way Sonu starts the song reminds of Mohamad Rafi. Sonu needs to improve his Kannada pronounciation. Shreya impresses with her alaaps in the second version of the song. This song somehow gives the feeling as if you are listening to a ghazal. Nice melodious song!

Banna Banna by Kunal Ganjawala and Sunidhi Chauhan with lyrics by V Nagendra Prasad. Its a western style duet with lots of beats and guitars used. It is neither fast nor slow paced.

Chanda Nanna Chandramukhi by Udit Narayan and Sadhana Sargam and lyrics by Jayant Kaikini. A duet with good music wherein the elderly couple complement each other in the lyrics. Udit as usual needs a tuition on Kannada pronounciation. Sadhana Sargam is a surprise entry here. Wonder why such a voice as Sadhana's is neglected in Bollywood.

Ugadi Ugadi sung by SPB and Nandita with lyrics by K Kalyan. A celebration song about Ugadi and the various aspects of related with the festival - staying together, loving eachother, facing happiness and sadness with the same mindset etc., Good lyrics, the singers and music have put soul into the song.

Lets Dance sung by Rajesh Krishnan and Chaitra and lyrics by Kaviraj sounds good in the voice of both the singers. Sounds like a party number. Rajesh and Chaitra put life into the song with their unique rendition.

A nice album overall with good music by Mano Murthy.

Mathad Mathadu Mallige - Good Commerical cum artistic attempt

Mathad Mathadu Mallige

Nagathihalli Chandrashekar(NHC)'s latest movie Mathad Mathadu Mallige has been in the news since its launch firstly due to the starcast and then then due to the issues addressed in the movie. And truly all the hype involved with the movie - the cast and the issues dont dissappint you. NHC after addressing issues like Indians settling in America (America America) and then with a different kind of love story between a husband and wife (Amrutha Dhare), here he touches upon globalisation and environmental issues which are the present day concerns of the world today. And he with his vast knowledge about the issues has done good justice to the movie. He has rightly expressed his view about globalisation and its impact on Indian villages and that too with a commercial touch.

The story is set in a small village wherein Hoovaiah (Dr. Vishnuvardhan) is a floriculturist living respectfully with his family consisting of his wife (Suhasini Manirathnam) and three daughters. The villagers are lured by a US multinational company to sell off their lands and vacate the village since it wants to start diamond mining there. Politicians are lured with money and the MNC gets the license to start mining in the village. But Hoovaiah is not interested to sell his land which he has loved so dearly as his family. He with some of the villagers protest against this and decide to confront the government and the "local" politicians (Rangayana Raghu, C R Simha etc.,) The rest of the story is a saga of his emotional relationship with the soil, his family and the villagers and how he with his ideals of Gandhism and faith in the present system succeeds in getting the license stayed.

The story looks simple and might also sound like a good material for a masala movie. But NHC has dealt the subject with much care and hasnt meddled with the actual story line by adding unnecessary commercial stuff. Two songs seemed out of scope of the narration and I felt he could have done without those but that would have removed the little commercial touch. But what scores here is NHC as a story teller who has succeeded in making a movie on a subject like this and yet not boring the audience. He has extracted the best out of every actor who plays even the smallest character in the movie.

Coming to the details of the movie, NHC seem to have poured out his anguish about the present politics and politicians throughout the movie with the dialouges. References like a sleepy person who can become the prime minister or politicians making remarks like despite sleeping and eating in houses of farmers we didnt get the votes etc., surely draws parallels with the present day politics. The relationship of Hoovaiah with his wife and the three daughters are sketched out clearly without dragging much. He brings about memories of Bandhana in which Vishnuvardhan and Suhasini had acted almost 2 decades ago in a song Banna Bannada Hoove. Hoovaiah and his wife love their first two daughters very much as compared to the third one who isnt much learned and works in the flower gardens. Dialogues wherein Hoovaiah tells his third daughter if she was well educated and had studied well she could have been saved by humiliation touch a lot. Also the third daughter's love for her parents has been picturized well.

She also proves that just being educated like her sisters doesnt mean everything but education with a purpose and other knowledge also is important. Hoovaiah's wife always complains of his generousness towards villagers and still loves him for what he is. Thus NHC weaves the complete family story as subplots. The scenes wherein the first two daughters elope with their lovers disappointing their parents and Hoovaiah approving their marriage desparately are very touching. The scene wherein the third daughter succumbs to extremist thoughts and the events which force her to make her realize that she is wrong are presented well.

The main plot of the movie - Hoovaiah's cruasde against globalization and environmental issues has been dealt very well. NHC's personal experience in such movements and his contacts with the leaders in such issues has added to the authenticity in his narration. First scene where Hoovaiah decides to go against the government order infront of the DC where he is all alone and helpless but later joined by his villagers is captivating. Secondly the scene where a TV reporter comes to his house claiming he has given him coverage and publicity and Hoovaiah pouring out his anger is good. Next scene is where Hoovaiah's wife asks him to attend the high level meeting with the MNC officials quoting his love for his village and villagers. The scene of Hooviah's confrontation with the MNC officials and politicians where he presents facts and figures about people affected by so called "globalization" is the best one in the movie. Hoovaiah's interaction with the extremist leader (Sudeep) and their conversation is a treat to watch. NHC thus completes linking the whole circle of politics, politicians, local greedy villagers, extremist ideologies and extremist leaders with the lone crusader against these through non-violence. Sudeep's introduction as an extremist leader brings about the present day issue of Naxalites who claim to fight the system through violence. Clash of ideologies - Gandhism and non-violence against extremism is clearly brought about and nothing is shown to be great or less. Hoovaiah wishes Sudeep good luck in his crusade and Sudeep watches Hoovaiah succeed in his crusade through his Gandhian idealogies. Some people might have the view that at the end Hoovaiah's act doesnt convince Sudeep to give up violence. But NHC has struck to his narration though he hasnt openly supported extremist activities. No need for that I believe since people with both kind of thoughts co-exist here in today's world. Such a normal end where the extremist gives up his thoughts would have been anticipated by the masses I believe. Introduction of Sudeep as an extremist leader at a point where Hoovaiah loses his wife might bring some thoughts of Hoovaiah too turning towards that.... but thanks to NHC for not having made it that way... It would have been too commercial I feel.

Coming to the performances, Dr. Vishnuvardhan has given a very good and controlled performance. He is so different as compared to the innumerable remake roles he had done previously. He again proves his acting prowess with his dialogue delivery and expressions. Suhasini Maniratnam is a treat to watch. Everytime she appears on the screen she gives a soothing appeal. What an actress!! Wish we could see more of her.... Great to watch Vishnuvardhan and Suhasini on-screen. Rangayana Raghu impresses as the local leader who lures farmers to sell their land to the MNCs. Sudeep has given a very good performance with his bit role and he impresses with his dialogues. Other veterans like Tara, Doddanna, Sihikahi Candru, Mandya Ramesh are good in their roles. NHC himself as Hoovaiah's friend and lawyer is just there!!! :-D

Music by ManoMurthy is good. Banna Bannada, Nammane Aramane and Jhana Jhana are well picturized. Technically its a good movie with good camerawork by Krishna Kumar. Good editing by Basavaraj Urs has helped to keep up the pace of the movie.( Though the Baaro Nanna Shahrukh song was quite unnecesary ). NHC could have brought out the eloping of the two daughters with their lovers in a better way. It looked somewhat too silly and dramatic. The costume designers for Dr. Vishnu could have worked better to make his turbans look more authentic for the location and the plot.

Overall it is a good attempt by NHC something different from his previous movie. Thanks NHC sir for giving us a thought provoking and socially relevent movie!!! And all the best!!!

Milana - Audio

Milana

Audio Released by Anand Audio

Music: Manomurthy

The album kicks off well with Sonu Nigam rendering "Ninnindale". Great lyrics and good music make this song a hummable number.

"Anthu Inthu" sung by Udit Narayan and Chitra is a duet with not impressive lyrics. Strange pronounciation by Udit despite he having sung many Kannada songs.

"Male Nintu Hoda Mele" by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal is a nice slow song about expressing love. Good lyrics and rendition by Shreya and Sonu.

"Kivi Maatu" by Kunal Ganjawala has good lyrics about getting ahead in life. The slow music with good usage of instruments makes it a good number to listen.

"Ninnindale" (Remix) - same song with pacy music.

"Madarangiyali" by Rajesh and Shreya Ghoshal is a nice song about marriage and preparations for marriage. Nice to hear Rajesh! (Wish he is given more chance here.......)

"Male Nintu Hoda Mele" again but in solo version by Shreya Ghoshal.

"Kaddu Kaddu" by Suresh Peters, Chaitra and Stephen is penned by V Nagendra Prasad is a dance number. Chaitra impresses with her rendition as usual. Different music by Manomurthy as compared to his other recent works.

Saavu Dhyeyakilla

Saavu Dhyeyakilla (No death for Goals) @ HN Kalakshetra 21st July 2007

Staged by : Darpana
Script, Screenplay, Lyrics, Dialogues and Direction by : K Sri (K Srinivas)
Lights : Jagadeesh
Make-Up : Ramakrishna Kannarpadi/Vijay Kumar
Costume Designer : N.MangaLa
Sets and Properties: Vasu/Abhijith/Manjunath

Sounds like an inspiring title right?? Yes it is!! Its a tale of patriotism and goals.. goals which dont have death! But not of the present times wherein people are forgetting what true patriotism means and are turning towards fanaticism in the viel of patriotism! Its a tale of burning desire of one man to free his motherland first from the clutches of a foreign invader and then to cleanse or remove autocracy. And how he achieves this with his great tact and knowledge of politics and statecraft forms the crux of the story. Yes its about Chanakya (famously known by this name, Vishnugupta or Kautilya as he has been referred to in history) who has given us "Arthashastra".

Arthashastra is "a book of political realism, a book analysing how the political world does work and not very often stating how it ought to work, a book that frequently discloses to a king what calculating and sometimes brutal measures he must carry out to preserve the state and the common good." Centrally, Arthaśāstra argues for an autocracy managing an efficient and solid economy. It discusses the ethics of economics and the duties and obligations of a king. The scope of Arthaśāstra is, however, far wider than statecraft, and it offers an outline of the entire legal and bureaucratic framework for administering a kingdom, with a wealth of descriptive cultural detail on topics such as mineralogy, mining and metals, agriculture, animal husbandry and medicine. The Arthaśāstra also focuses on issues of welfare (for instance, redistribution of wealth during a famine) and the collective ethics that hold a society together. - Wikipedia

This story is about the life and growth of Vishnugupta from a normal teacher in Takshashila to a powerful and tactful prime minister of Chandragupta Maurya. Vishnugupta faces immense humiliation from Dhanananda, the ruler of Nanda dynasty when he approaches him with pleads about safegaurding the nation from the invader from Greece, Alexander. Vishnugupta takes an oath that he would not to tie his long hair(shikhe) until he overthrows Dhanananda from the throne. In the process of searching like minded people who are passionate about protecting the country against invasion, he chances upon the young Chandragupta who impresses Vishnugupta/Chanakya with his leadership qualities. Chanakya decides to mentor him and vows to make him the emperor of India. He also gets some more people as aides to Chandragupta like Simharana, Alakanandindi, etc., With his tactful thoughts, wit and usage of all the political tactics like using spies, bribery he manages to break the unity amongst the Nandas and overthrows Dhanananda thus completing his oath! Chandragupta Maurya is made the king of Magadha. He then wants to make Amatya Rakshasha who is the most trusted and ablest minister of Nanda Kingdom as one amongst the ministers of Chandragupta Maurya. To get this thing done, he again hatches a plot against Amatya Rakshasha in acquiring his ring and using it to prove that he is not loyal to the Nandas. This incident is famously known as Mudra-Rakshasa in literature. Finally Chanakya manages to bring Amatya Rakshasha under Chandragupta Maurya and leaves Magadha for Takshashila.

This complex story of politics, deceit, plots, visha-kanyas, statesmanship and changing loyalties which lead to a stable and strong empire has been enacted by Darpana troupe. And they have done their best in doing justice to this long and hard to enact tale. Scripted by K Srinivas the drama has got its own defining moments where Chanakya swears on Dhanananda to overthrow him, the plot to kill Bhadrasena, defeating Dhanananda, and finally the Mudra-Rakshasha story are where the actors have excelled. K Sree(as K Sreenivas is known popularly) has given some modern touch to the play with usage of modern Kannada language at places. Also in the war sequences, the usage of Kalaripayattu (Kerala's traditional martial art form) gives the viewer a visual treat. Costumes by N Mangala are truly imaginative yet realistic enough to give a feel of the ancient Magadha. The story told from the point of view of the rivers of Magadha Kingdom - Ganga, Sindhu and Jheelum, where the three rivers are personified and act as sutradhaaras for the play is really innovative. Music by Saikiran leaves a perfect impact at the right time though I felt the drums were a bit loud at times.

Coming to the actors, its Shesha Murthy who plays Chanakya who leaves a big impact with his thundering performance. Malatesh who plays Simharana is very good in his bodylanguage and narration as usual. Nirmala C who plays Alakanandini leaves a good impact. Nanjunda Murthy Rao (whom we better know as Mukta Nanjunda) has given one of his best performances as Bhadrasena. Others who leave a good impression are Rakshit Shetty who plays Chandragupta, Lokesh Gowda as Dhanananda and Santosh Shivling as Nipunaka. Totally a great team work in enacting this story! The lights and makeup are truly apt and well suited for the scenes and hence the characters.

On the flip side, at places prounounciation by some actors were not that clear. May be due to the poor acoustics of the auditorium! I personally feel the team should work on this aspect to improve the impact of the play. Knowing the vastness of the story and large number or characters and references to people and understanding the difficulty of the performers (some being amateur performers or budding artists) their effort shows off in bringing out their best.

All the best team!! Will look forward for your performance again!!


A note to the people who want to watch this play! Brush up the history about Chanakya or else you might feel lost!

Ninade Nenapu

Ninade Nenapu

Audio Release by Sony BMG
Music Director: Mahesh Patel and Ram Sampat
Director: Madan Patel

Sony BMG enters Kannada music scene with Madan Patel's venture for his son Mayur Patel's "Ninade Nenapu".

"Yaare Sakhi Ninna Sakha" sung by Udit Narayan and Anuradha Sriram and lyrics by Aanand V. A mediocre duet. Anuradha Sriram returns with her shrill voice! Udit is good as usual.

"Ibbaniyali Mindide Preetiyali Toydide" sung by Chitra and with lyrics by Vijaya Karnataka Editor Vishweshwar Bhat is a melodious number with good lyrics.

"Heegeke Nange Nenapaaguve" sung by Kunal Ganjawala and lyrics by Kaviraj is a slow number with good music. Sounds like the title song of the movie.

"Karagi Karagi Neeraagi HOde" sung by Chaitra and Satish Aryan and lyrics by Manjunath Rao is a sensuous number with good music and great singing by Chaitra.

"Manasu Idre Maarga Anta" sung by Satish Aryan and lyrics by Nagendra Prasad is about hardships in life and how to face them. Satish has got a different voice but definitely needs a tune up.

"Dayamaadi Baa Preeti" sung by Chaitra and Nitin Shastri and lyrics by Nagendra Prasad is a dance number with fast pacy music and good rendition by both the singers.

"Ibbaniyali Mindide Preetiyali Toydide" sung by Sona is diferent to hear in the voice of Sona. Quite different from Chitra's version.

"Heegeke Nanninda Doorade nee" sung by Rajesh Krishnan and lyrics by Manjunath Rao is a typical viraha geete. Rajesh puts his heart into his rendition.

"O Nanna Geleyane Hrudaya Koogide" sung by Sona and lyrics by Manjunath Rao is about memories of lover. Sona disappoints in this song.

"Naane Kane Ninna Sakha" sung by Rajesh Krishnan and lyrics by Manjunath Rao is a short version of Yaare Sakhi Ninna sakha.

Savi Savi Nenapu

Savi Savi Nenapu

Audio Released by Jhankar

Music Director : R P Patnayak

Director : Santosh Rai Pataje

Producer: S V Babu

Prem's next movie Savi Savi Nenapu where he appears in his new avataar has got a good music by R P Patnayak.

The album kicks off with "Saviyo Saviyu" sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal with lyrics by Nagatihalli Chandrashekar. The lyrics are too good and music is soft and grows slowly. Sonu and Shreya put life into the song but I feel Sonu's pronounciation could have been better".

"Haadu Haadu" sung by Prem himself with lyrics by Hridayashiva is a fast number. A youthful number. Prem doesnt impress with his singing.

"Savi Savi Nenapu" the title song rendered by R P Patnayak and Sunita is a great one with respect to the music and lyrics by Jayant Kaikini. A melodious song. Sunita is great with her fresh voice.

"Naa Nana Nanana" sung by Karthik with lyrics by Hridayashiva is a rip off from an English number. Karthik impresses with his rendition. Its all about youth, josh and love! Good mix of western beats and classical instruments.

"Kaanuva Notave" sung by new comer Apoorva Sridhar and lyrics by K Kalyan. Good to hear Apoorva. She has got a good song to start up her career. The music switches from slow to fast to slow. Good orchestration of the song. Thanks RP for giving us a new singer!! The lyrics are about departing from lover and the rememberances associated.

"Nenapu Nenapu" sung by S P Balasubramanyam and lyrics by Hridayashiva is the best number in the album. A slow song with great music.Rememberances of the girl - thats what is all the song is about. Captivating lyrics indeed. We get to know why SP is still the best!

"Sooryanu Ee Divasa" sung by Rajesh Krishnan and Sunita and lyrics by Jayant Kaikini is about the sun and the morning mood he creates. The tune reminds me of "Happy Birthday to you" tune!

#73 Shantinivasa - Kichcha's Next movie Audio

The songs from #73 Shantinivasa are good to hear espicially for their classical content. Lyrics for all the songs is by K Kalyan. Music by Bharadwaj is different and pleasant.

Geeya Geeya Tirugu Bhoomi sung by SPB is a good one for its lyrics and the geeya geeya gaageeya geeya interludes in between.

Preetiyendare Heegeene sung by Rajesh is a slow song with a lot of classical touch expressing the effects of love.

Thayatta Thayatta sung by Rajesh and Kalyani again with classical tune and modern instruments is a nice one to hear. Its a song about love and various feelings goin on in mind when one is in love.

Aadaddella Olledaytu sung by Rajesh, L N Shastri, Master Hirannayya, Nandita, Archana Udupa and Arun Sagar. The tune is a lift from the hindi version 'Bhor Aayi Gaya Andhiyaara'.

Hrudaya Hrudaya sung by Srinivas is a pacy number. A bit boring number compared to others.

Preetiyendare Heegene sung by Bharadwaj is different to hear in this version sung by the music director himself.

Tirugu Bhoomi (remix) is a nice number to hear with the beats and extra effects.

Ondu Olle Katheya Heluve sung by Shivrajkumar and Sudeep himself is the introduction song of the movie which probably is played with the titles in the movie where the house and its occupants are introduced. Sudeep's dialogues and Shivrajkumar's voice are nice to hear.

Banda Nodu sung by Bharadwaj is a jingle telling about the works done by the servant (Sudeep).

Good album to listen!

Soundarya - Good Effort

Soundarya - Beyond .. Beyond.. your Imagination

Felt the tag line of the movie was somewhat queer when I saw it initially. Was wondering what the movie would be about. Since it is a movie starring Ramesh I felt it would be worth watching. The lyrics and music by Hamsalekha were quite interesting and enough to pull me to the theatre.

The movie starts off with a sneak peak into the land mafia which has spread its roots into the ever growing demand of land in this City of IT and BT that is Bangalore.[There are umpteen references to the city this way in the movie that it irritated me a bit :-) ] The events depict the hold of land mafia and influential people who make their business easy by using muscle and money power. These chain of events create an impact on the viewer and makes him aware of the fact that we are living amidst such circumstances even though we feel safe and seem to enjoy our life in our own way. Despite being far from these, how a commoner can get caught in these events and suffer forms the real matter of the story.

Ramesh(Ramesh) owner of a chemical company is a happily married man lives in Bangalore with his wife Soundarya(Sakshi Shivanand) and daughter(Baby Shreya). He gets into the matter of land mafia just because of a silly reason and has to listen obscene remarks and comments about his wife from one of the mafia lords, John. He gets enraged by this and decides to kill the person, poisons the person and dumps his body in a park. But later he starts feeling guilty about this sin after he starts getting anonymous calls to confess his crime. Meanwhile the investigation of the murder of the mafia lord is handed over to Prakash (Rahul Dev), Ramesh's best friend, who comes down to Bangalore and stays with Ramesh during the case investigation and keeps him updated about the turn of events. Guilt makes a major impact on Ramesh's mind and he decides to confess his crime to Prakash and he writes a letter to him telling all about the murder. But the letter is read by Soundarya and she in her efforts to save her husband writes a letter confessing that she killed the mafia lord. What does Prakash do? Does he take Soundarya into custody or is it Ramesh who is held responsible is the later part of the story.

A very good effort by the director E Chennagangappa who himself is said to have been in the real estate business in Bangalore. He has put reality into the events depicting the land grabbing incidents by means of false document creation, extortion, murder etc., just to be in the business. But he bores us towards the end of the movie with some unnecessary sequences and a dragging song in the sequence leading to the climax.

Ramesh is brilliant in the role and does his job very decently. But he seems somewhat uncomfortable dancing to the slow songs. He again proves that he is one of the very few talented actors who can handle all kinds of emotions well. Sakshi Shivanand irritates a bit with her mannerisms which are too much at times. Rahul Dev is good in the role of the CBI officer but the dubbing artist for him plays spoil sport. The voice doesnt suit his personality. Same is the case with Sakshi Shivanand. Baby Shreya adds life to her role with her innocent looks. An interesting cameo as a spiritual leader by Avinash puts us on the edge of the seat but ends up as a damp squib when his real identity is revealed. Shivakumar as John has done a good job. Lohitashwa is wasted in a bit role.

Songs with lyrics and music by Hamsalekha are great to hear. Hrudayada Maatu is nice song sung by Kunal Ganjawala but he needs Kannada pronounciation lessons badly. Soundarya the title song is good to hear, to which Sonu Nigam lends his voice. Alli Nodu Alli Nodu is a good number but shot unnecessarily in foreign locales. Adnan Sami crooning in Sneha Preeti is a good song but wrongly placed. I question at this point - why we should go for non-Kannada singers when we have ample playback singing talent here in Kannada itself.

Overall its an interesting movie with a crooked ending(atleast for a Kannada movie) - Worth watching once for a different story line and good performance by Ramesh. What needs to be seen is how will Kannada movie goers accept this movie with an unconventional ending. The ending is a bit Hollywoodish.... that might be the reason why the tag line is "Beyond.. Beyond .. Your Imagination" :-)

Classics Revisited Series.

Savinenapugalu Beku Saviyalee Baduku....
How true are these lyrics from a Kannada movie which says memories are required to enjoy the life....

Here I will put forward some memories of some of the classic movies in Kannada and Hindi which I have started to watch. The movies which I have started to watch were the best in their time and genre. So whatever I would write would be like paying tribute all the people who were a part of the movie in any respect. Also it would be like thanking the maestros who gave us such movies the memoirs which we can cherish forever.... Hence I name the series "Classics Revisited....."

Please let me know your views/inputs regarding this.

Will do the writeups during the weekends for any movie which I watch. Please do leave comments about the movie or the writeup or anything which you feel like sharing.....

1. Khamoshi - The Musical (1996)
2. Khel Khel Mein (1975)

[Starting off with these two hindi movies... will add more to the list and also Kannada movies]

Kshana Kshana - Sunil Kumar Desai's Next (Audio)

Kshana Kshana - Thrills... Chills...

Released by Anand Audio.

Every movie of Sunil Kumar Desai is always associated with lots of expectations. Even this movie has built up a lot in the minds of his fans since this is supposed to be a thriller after his Marma. This movie stars Aditya, Dr. Vishnuvardhan and Prema! Music is by R P Patnayak. The album has 6 songs.

The album starts with "I Love you I Love you" sung beautifully by Rajesh Krishnan and Shreya Ghoshal. Lyricist K Kalyan again lives upto his 'Prema Kavi' status in this song.

"Madhira Madhura" sung by K K and Malgudi Shubha with lyrics by Kaviraj sounds like an item song.

"Kshana Kshana" sung by Usha Uthup is the title track which is very pacy and sounds very haunting. Lyrics by V Nagendraprasad are ok. The orchestration of the song is what is good about this song. The chorus and the different voice of Usha Uthup adds a lot to the mysterious feel of the song. It feels great to hear Usha Uthup in Kannada after a long time. She is known to add her own touch to all the songs she sings and she does that here also which adds a lot to the feel of the song.

"Ondu Kotre Eradu Kodtini" sung by Udit Narayan and Chitra with lyrics by K Kalyan is good to hear and is all about kisses. Udit is good in his singing as usual. But I am wondering who is this Chitra. She doesnt sound like Chitra who sang 'Omkaradi Kande Prema Naadava', 'Tunturu...' etc., This song has the feel of the famous jaanapada song 'Kaadu Kudure Odi Banditta....'

"Love Love" sung by Chaitra and lyrics by Kaviraj is again a pacy number with good beats. Not quite appealing with respect to lyrics.

"Ee Kshana Gharshana" sung by Rajesh Krishnan and Sunita with lyrics written by Kaviraj is about achieving a goal!

Some songs dont sound interesting but might be very situation specific since it is a thriller. We might appreciate the songs when they are woven with the screenplay to add to the suspense and thrills in the movie.

Good album with different music by R P Patnayak.

Santa - Preetsorge Swanta (Audio)

Santa - Preetsorge swanta

Released by Akash Audio

Shivanna's next movie Santa has got lots of epectations from many. The trailors on TV seem interesting.

Director S Muralimohan has written lyrics for four of the six songs in this album which has music by Gurukiran.

The album kick starts with "Superman" sung by many singers like Chaitra, Gururaj Hoskote, Gurukiran (??), Chetan, M N Lakshmidevi, Baby Hirannayya and Baby Rakshita is a song explaining about the heroics of Shivanna and most of his movies are quoted in the song. Lyrics by S Muralimohan doesnt impress.

"Shiva Shiva" written by Kaviraj and S Muralimohan and sung by Suneeta is a song for the mass with refrences to cricket, machchu, laangu... Wonder where are the melodies.....

"Bhagavanta" written by S Muralimohan and sung by S P Balasubramanyam. It starts off with the famous lines of Bhagavanta Kai Kotta dudiyokanta (famous annavra song). It is a good song with lyrics telling about working hard.

"Naguvirali" written by V Manohar and sung by Nandita is a slow number with hindustani alaaps in between. Song is about wishing good for one's lover.

"Dhava Dhava" written by Hrudaya Shiva and sung by Karthik is a pacy number telling about the effects of love on a person. Good number! I loved Karthik's playback singing in this song! Good lyrics by Hrudaya Shiva.

"Naguvirali" male version is sung by Shrinivas sounded better than the female version! Best song in the album according to me.

Very average album!!

Pallakki - Audio Review

Pallakki - Audio Review

Released by Jhankar Audio. Music by Gurukiran. This movie is the next one for the new heart throb Premkumar.

The album has seven tracks.

Bidu Bidu is the opening track which is a melodious number written by Hrudaya shiva and sung really well by Rajesh Krishnan and Chaitra.

O Priya is a solo number sung by Chitra which tells about the woes of parting from one's lover. Lyrics by Kaviraj is good for this number.

Kannallu Neeneene sung by Gurukiran ( Kannada's Himesh or what???? ) has lyrics by V Manohar is a slow number with good beats. The song is just ok. I didnt like the lyrics much. Felt as if the lyrics were fit into the music.

Avva Kano Kannada sung by the legend SP Balasubramanyam has lyrics by Shivananjegowda tells about various places in Kannada Naadu and what they are famous for. Lyrics are just ok. Nothing great about this song except for SPB.

O Priya written by Kaviraj and sung by Aslam is the male version of the Chitra number. Aslam has got a good and promising voice.

Intha Shaapa penned by Kaviraj and sung by Chetan is a slow number about pleading for a lover to explain the reason for parting.

Goli Maaro written by Kaviraj and sung by Karthik is a nice song telling about fighting back against leg-pullers and never say die attitude.

Overall an OK album!

Dhareyolagina Raajakaarana @ H N Kalakshetra

Dhareyolagina Raajakaarana @ H N Kalakshetra

Politics is not a new phenomenon. It has been existent since the days of Mahabharata. Thats what is depicted in the play 'Dhareyolagina Raajakaarana" staged by Sanchari Theatre troupe. This is told from the point of view of Draupadi who is told to be the main reason for the Kurukshetra war to occur. She is shown to have been a victim of male dominated world and the politics surrounding it. Many instances are shown wherein Draupadi is shown as a woman on the receiving end of the male politics in the viel of following Dharma.

Draupadi is won by Arjuna after hitting the fish in the swayamvara is described as a commodity whom the paandavas have won. Arjuna tells his mother Kunti that they have brought something and Kunti asks them to share it among themselves not knowing the fact that what they have brought is not a commodity or a thing but a bride whom Arjuna has won. After their mother tells this, all the remaining paandavas develop an attraction towards Draupadi and claim that they too should have a share in her. Seeing all this Draupadi's fears rise and she questions why she is being treated this way and Kunti convinces her that it is better that she accepts them all as her husbands despite what the society thinks since she should follow it to safegaurd Dharma.

Next when Arjuna brings Subhadra as his wife, Draupadi questions Kunti why Subhadra was not asked to be shared among the paandavas just like her and also questions if it was because of the fact that Subhadra was from Kunti's family and hence there was favouritism towards her.

During the the game of dice between the paandavas and kauravas, she questions why a wife was used as a bet as if she was nothing but a commodity (again!!) for her husbands. She is very angered after she is disrobed infront of all the elders of the family and curses the kauravas. In an attempt to calm her down, Dhritarashtra offers her three wishes (as a bribe to save themselves??) using two of which she frees her husbands from slavery to protect her dharma as a wife.

During the war, she also visits Karna to tell him that she had liked him to be her husband before Arjuna won her. But he rejects her saying that he has to protect his dharma. She then feels sad for her mother-in-law and her misery after Karna's death. Thats when she also explains to Kunti that even Kunti was a victim of male chauvinism and oppression and hence she had to face this misery of secretly weeping for her lost son.

Finally Draupadi even points fingers at Krishna for not having saved her children after Ashwatthama kills them during their sleep and accuses Krishna of favoring just the paandavas and to save them from Ashwatthama he had sent them away.

Though the story is based in the time of Mahabharata, the theme of the play still holds good in present day society where male domination is still rampant. This play was characterized by the powerful display of emotions by Nirmala who played Draupadi. Her emotions and expressions were top class to make the audience feel for her pain, misery and agony. Even Sandhya who played Kunti was good, but I felt her emotions were too overboard at times. Other actors Raman(Dharmaraya), Vinay Krishnaswamy(Bheema), Nanjunda Murthy Rao of Muktha fame (Arjuna), Shesha Murthy (Nakula) and Malatesh (Sahadeva) played their roles to perfection. But it was fullly Nirmala's act which bowled the audience over. The sets by Arun Sagar were innovative and added to the right feel of the various situations. Light by Jagadish was apt. Music Gajanan T Nayak was just good with a touch of variety all through the play. Finally it was the director Mangala N who should be congratulated for her great effort of bringing about such a topical play and that too with such a great effect. She has truly extracted the best out of all her actors.

Hope to see many such bold attempts by Sanchari Theatre troupe.

My suggestion - dont miss this play when it is staged elsewhere!

Nenapaadalu Shakuntale @ Rangashankara

Nenapaadalu Shakuntale @ Rangashankara

Aneka's adaptation of Mahakavi Kalidasa's Abhijnana Shaakuntalam as 'Nenpaadalu Shakuntale' is the well known love story of Shakuntala and Dushyanta.

Abhijnana Shakuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala) tells the story of king Dushyanta who falls in love with a lovely girl Shakuntala who is at sage Kanva's ashrama. The couple get married in gandharva style and things seem to be going smoothly until Fate intervenes. When the king is called back to court by some pressing business, his new bride unintentionally offends the angry sage Doorvasa who puts a curse on her, erasing the young girl entirely from the king's memory. Softening after her friends describe to him her situation,the saint concedes that the king's memory will return when Shakuntala returns to him the ring he gave her. This seems easy enough--that is, until Shakuntala loses the ring while on the boat travelling to meet Dushyanta. And to make matters worse, she soon discovers that she is pregnant with the king's child. Upon reaching Dushyanta's place, he fails to recognize her and humiliates her. She then goes to sage Maareecha's ashrama where she gives birth to Sarvadamana. True love is destined to win the day, and when a fisherman finds the ring, the king's memory returns and he starts to repent for his mistake of not recognizing Shakuntala. He accidentally happens to visit Maareecha's ashrama where he chances upon Sarvadamana who is playing with a lion cub. His mother Shakuntala comes in search of him and thats when Dushyanta recognises her and accepts her.

The story and hence the play is very simple and has all the elements to make it worth watching. The colorful sets and the various shades of lighting used were the highlights of the play. The major highlight was the climax wherein Shakuntala feels sorry that she being recognized by Dushyanta is related to a mere ornament and not love, thus questioning the status of women in present society where material love rules. Nenapaadalu Shakuntale is remarkable not only for its beautiful love poetry, but also for its abundant humor which marks the play from beginning till end. Good effort by Suresh Anagalli of Aneka in directing the play.

Pampa Bharata @ Rangashankara

Pampa Bharata @ Rangashankara

Samudaya's next offering after 'Jugaari Cross' is based on the famous Kannada poet Pampa's adaptation of Mahabharata famously known as 'Pampa Bharata'. Pampa Bharata is also known as Vikramarjuna Vijaya. Adikavi Pampa in his version of Mahabharata chose to personify his king Arikesari (a Rashtrakuta feudatory and a great friend of Pampa) and centred his work around Arjuna. Arjuna is glorified to a large extent in his work and he is given lots of importance. After the war of Kurukshetra,it is Arjuna who is crowned king and his wife Subhadra who becomes the royal queen (unlike Dharmaraya as depicted in Vyasa's Mahabharata).

The play has been adapted and presented in a different format with Karna the other character walking into the limelight. Why Karna is what comes to everyone's mind. The reasons are explained in the play. It is shown that Pampa actually wanted to show king Arikesari as Karna and not as Arjuna in his work. But since Arikesari's attitude and hunger for power was too much to handle for Pampa, he ends up depicting his friend the king as Karna who is a symbol of sacrifice in the Mahabharata.

In a well executed plot, Karna is shown to be questioning Pampa why he was sidelined in the latter's work though Karna's and Pampa's lives are in parallel. The parallelism is drawn with Karna being treated as an outsider due to he being a Sutaputra. Pampa, a born Brahmin who later is converted to Jainism also faces such an outsider status in the society. Due to this Pampa sympathises with Karna since he too had to face situations similar to the ones Karna had faced.

In his reply to Karna, Pampa explains the reasons for not glorifying him but taking to Arjuna due to his closeness towards Arikesari, the king. He explains him the reason why Karna did not get the chance to win Draupadi even though he lifted the Dhanassu and aimed at the fish correctly. The consipiracy behind this was the political plays of Krishna, who wanted Arjuna to win Draupadi. It is also shown that Draupadi falls for Karna when he aims correctly at the fish. Karna has to undergo lots of humiliation because of his non-Kshatriya status-the main one being the chance to head the army against the Pandavas. Also his oath to his mother Kunti that he would not kill any of his brothers except Arjuna puts him in a fix. Just before the war starts it is shown that even Draupadi comes to Karna and she is shown to be angry at him for not marrying her and also wishes to have him as husband even if Arjuna dies in the war.

Quoting his reasons Pampa says he had to glorify king Arikesari and hence Arjuna in his Vikramarjuna Vijaya and apologises to Karna for neglecting him and not doing justice to his character even though he had sympathy towards Karna. The play ends with king Arikesari also confessing that he had Pampa killed due to the brahmin dominated society where he had to rule against his wishes just for the sake of making it big and to hold on to power.

Great performances and innovative sets were the highlights of the play. The format of the play which starts of in the modern times wherein two research scholars go in search of a shila shaasana said to have been written by Arikesari for Pampa, thus triggering the events towards the great climax is wonderful.

Good direction by Pramod Shiggaon added to the grandeur of the play. My wishes again to Samudaya for giving us this play and bringing out the other side of the epic Mahabharata.