Gaalipata - Movie Review

Gaalipata - Flying High!!

I had thought the era of fairy tales was over. But Yograj Bhat has woven a "nice" fairy tale around three friends, their love and a wild boar (???)!!! Yes that’s what the thin story line of Gaalipata is about. It’s a movie with a great concept of weaving these together. And Yograj Bhat does the weaving well and comes up with a nice entertaining fare.

Here goes the storyline… Three rich carefree friends Ganesh (Ganesh), Diganth (Diganth) and Kitty (Rajesh Krishna) have different characters distinctly. They come to a remote Malnad place called Mugilupete to Digant’s grandfather’s house. There they have to stay with Kodandaram (Anantnag) and Padma (Padmaja Rao). They have a widowed daughter-in-law Sowmya (Daisy Bopanna) and two daughters Radha (Nitu) and Pavani (Bhavana Rao). Kodandaram’s legs are paralyzed while hunting a wild boar in the jungle and hence he has the feeling to avenge his loss. The three guys help him in hunting the boar again but in vain only to gain scoldings from Padma and her daughters despite which Ganesh’s will to hunt the boar grows. In due course, Ganesh falls for the always silent Sowmya, Diganth for the ever-scolding Radha and Kitty for the talkative and naughty Pavani. Ganesh somehow brokers the engagement between Digant-Radha and Kitty-Pavani. But when it comes to his love, Sowmya rejects his offer saying she is better off with her memories of her childhood friend and husband who passed away just two hours after their marriage. This breaks down Ganesh and his parents’ (Sudha Belavadi and Rangayana Raghu) efforts to persuade Sowmya to marry Ganesh fails. What happens to Ganesh and his love? Will he get Sowmya or he has to forget her? Watch in the movie for its hurried climax!!!

Storyline is simple and what catches here are the dialogues by Yograj Bhat. They are comic and punching at the right places. All the best dialogues are “reserved” for Ganesh and he delivers well. But alas!! Each and every dialogue and his body language remind us of his Mungaaru Male act. No doubt they evoke lots of laughter, but feel sad that Ganesh hasn’t given anything new in this! Signs of becoming KFI’s SRK?? Huh!! Or is it intentional from the director himself to give the same effect as MM. Not quite clear.

Diganth is just a poster boy here and gives some nice smiles all through. Rajesh Krishnan who is supposed to be the serious guy amongst the three is too serious to notice that he has got nothing to do here. Totally the other two are overshadowed by Ganesh. Daisy looks graceful and performs well too. Nitu has got her share of scoldings in the movie and carries on her proceedings well. Bhavana Rao is good in her act as the playful youngest daughter of Anantnag. Anantnag hams in this movie which is a bit disappointing. Padmaja Rao needs to tone down her voice. She almost blew my ears with her screeches and shouts. Rangayana Raghu impresses as Ganesh’s father.

Rathnavelu has done a great job in capturing the locales well. Kodachadri, Bekal fort and Shivanasamudra are breathtakingly picturized. But the effect of Jog as in MM is missing. No complaints but.

Songs add to the feel of the movie. The title song is shot well. Minchagi Neenu Baralu has got great photography and settings. Aha Ee Bedaru Bombege is good with some nice costumes. Nadhimdheemtana picturized at Kodachadri with Yakshagaana artists is a treat to watch.

Despite these, what does Galipata lack? I feel it lacks a vision. There is no proper justification for the title except for the title song which claims the lives of youngsters to be like a kite-free flying and racing ahead. The climax is a bit of let down. Why was such a situation and location required? The same thing could have happened on road or elsewhere. Is it just to complete a track that Sowmya had lost her husband there? Other thing which irked is the wild boar track! The dialogues and situations are woven around that and make it a hero and also a God towards the end. No doubt Yograj Bhat has given a great entertainer with some good dialogues, photography and music. But he could have extracted something different from Ganesh!

Totally it’s a good timepass entertainer. Watch it if you are a Ganesh and Yograj Bhat fan. You wont get disappointed for sure :)

Honganasu – Movie Review

Honganasu – A Good Dream

Honganasu is Nenapirali director Rathnaja’s next venture and hence has got its own expectations in the film industry. Here Rathnaja ventures out with a family subject and his favourite star Prem to give a neat movie. And I should say he succeeds at his attempt in conveying his thoughts in a beautiful manner. The storyline is simple and hence he hence needs lots of support from his actors and technical team to put his thoughts to work. He has succeeded in getting that “best” from all of them. As in Nenpirali, Hamsalekha’s music is a major plus point for the movie.

So what is Honganasu about? Its about the dreams of a father (Anantnag) to get his late sister’s daughter Sowmya (Anuradha Mehta) and friend (Ramesh Bhat) as his daughter-in-law for his eldest son, Santhosh (Adarsha). He makes Sagar (Prem), his second son as a part his dreams and Sagar right from his childhood nurtures the dream of seeing Sowmya as his sister-in-law from his childhood and develops a strong bonding towards her. These dreams are prolonged much to the dismay of Anantnag and Sagar since Shilpa, Sagar’s sister is also ready for marriage and doesn’t accept many of the alliances offered to her. The family as usual thinks of getting the daughter married before the marriage of sons. At this point of time one alliance for Shilpa arrives which she accepts much to the surprise of everyone in the family. But the groom’s condition wherein he puts a condition that he would accept Shilpa if Santhosh marries his sister Impana (Anjali) who is studying in a dental college put a big question on the dreams of Anantnag and Sagar. How will Sagar come out of this and how does he make his father’s dream a reality is the rest of the story.

The story being so simple and hence the script is backed up with performances and music. The first half of the movie is quite enjoyable with Sharan’s comedy sequences. I really appreciate this guy’s comic timing sense. He just has to be used properly in movies. Even the comedy track is quite convincing unlike the other movies. The second half is a bit dragging being mostly in flashback wherein Rathnaja tries to depict Sagar’s love for his sister-in-law. Sometimes the sequences make people feel its too much. The length of flashback sequences could be reduced to make it look better. But despite that, the conviction with which Rathnaja handles the climax and the justification given are too apt. The climax arrives too late that’s the major drawback.

Prem as Sagar gives a good performance. He has improved a lot in all domains from his previous movies. Anjali is looks pretty but doesn’t have much to do. Anuradha Mehta acts well in this but she could have been more convincing. Anantnag, Ramesh Bhat and Vinaya Prakash have done their job well. Naveen Krishna supports well in the second half. Sharan is too good in the first half.

Music was the highlight of Rathnaja’s previous movie Nenapirali and here too Hamasalekha’s music adds colors to the movie. Good songs which are already popular have added to the feel of the movie and they arrive at the right time. Lagge Lagge, Chigurodeda, Kandu Konde and the title song are picturized innovatively and are good to watch on screen. Baa Nagu Nannondige comes with the Kerala touch and is impressive. Kuvari Kuvari is ok.

Cinematography is one more plus point for the movie and cinematographer Anant Urs puts his full effort in bringing in front of the beauty of Sahyadri hills, Murdeshwar and Malnad area.

Rathnaja has done a good job in putting this story on to the screen. But I feel he has concentrated more on the second half than on the first half. Romance and Comedy are major highlights in first half but Rathnaja scores in comedy than in romance. The second half is fully a family drama and all the major events take place during this part. Family values, sentimental and thoughtful words add to the effect and Rathnaja convinces with his depiction and justification for the climax. But personally I feel the movie can be trimmed by around 20 mins in the second half with some slick editing.

Now its left to the audience whether they would accept this neat family entertainer with some doubts about the acceptance on the extreme love and possessiveness of a guy towards his sister-in-law. But those doubts would be cleared with the convincing end I believe. On the whole, I feel this movie would also pick up late and by the word of mouth.