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Paramatma

2011-10-06T16:30:00.000+05:30

The movie was ok ok according to me. Appu was simply superb. Yograj bhat not up to the mark in keeping up the pace of the story. (There's hardly anything happening in the first half... In second half the story moves on with a slow pace).... The climax was exactly what I had anticipated. Cant say it is very emotional but good one. Rangayana Raghu tries hard to pull up mangalore style dialogues but fails at places. Dattanna is wasted in a rather insipid role. Anantnag is good but not very convincing. Avinash is totally mis-cast. Aindrita and Deepa have done a good job.

Yogi sir.... You could have done it better according to me!!!

Lifeuu Ishtene.....

2011-09-11T20:56:00.002+05:30

Watched this movie "Lifeu Ishtene" today....

Movie was entertaining... but does not create any impact. Could have been better. Wondering how long the same formula of blaming life people and others will continue to be used....Direction wise it was good. But I felt the film lacked conviction! Also wondering if life is only about falling in love, getting ditched, finding another girl, being lazy, bunking classes, blaming parents.. and even calling them "poli" ..... lotsa such things.... these might sound entertaining at that point of time but what the director wants to say does not linger in the minds of viewer after coming out of the theatre....Wondering how many movies will be made on the same lines and with same kinds of monologues. All these movies sound very similar and finally fail to provide any solid impact. Again its my view only :)

New Year ... New Hopes...

2011-01-24T15:45:00.000+05:30

A new year has ushered in with new hopes. Even I have stepped into a different organization now after "literally" burning my hands and what not(!!) at my previous organization. Hope this journey with my new job would be a smooth one unlike all the previous years!!

End of six year ambivalence

2010-05-31T15:37:00.002+05:30

After 6 years of ambivalence, have manged to join a different organization. It was one hell of a experience in all the previous 6 years - nothing can match that I believe. Different kinds of people, different mindsets of working, different ethnicity, different language, different opinions and what not different :D But, they surely have come in very handy in shaping up what I am and what I should be doing in the present organization. So, cant really say what I am feeling as of now, but whats in store for me in the coming days is something which I have looked forward to in my past. Being in a big organization and being amongst the processes and the "process oriented people". Though there are lots of differences between being in a product company and a services company, but each in a way can give a huge learning experience.

So, my journey has started... Will keep you updated!!!

Am Back!!

2010-02-23T13:25:00.003+05:30

After a hiatus from blogging for almost an year (last one was on the poor voter turnout during elections :( last year), I am back!! Though there were many things (and ofcourse movies!! :P ) about which I could have blogged, I didnt ... blame my laziness for that :)

Am back now and will surely promise to be regular (hopefully ;-) )

Thanks to Ajay who provoked me or rather confronted and later persuaded me to write something. Also thanks to all the near and dear ones who would be reading this!!

Its a Shame!!!

2009-04-24T12:33:00.001+05:30

Its a shame!!

"You want change and want improvement in GOVT activities, but you don't want to change yourself..Its not just a loss of your vote, its loss for my vote as well!! Bcoz you didn't vote, and those uneducated people voted for a candidate without thinking" Now spend 5 years to get your next chance to say.. "Govt does nothing"!! just 47 % voting in Bangalore... in spite declaring holiday, time off and once in 5 years opportunity. Am so sad :(

85 % of Bangalore is educated and no one feels responsible???

Birugaali - Review

2009-02-09T12:17:00.000+05:30

the movie was just ok.. not great as it was seen in the promos or the songs! the songs only keep up the movie or else its a big let down.

the plot is not convincing enough. dont know what harsha was about to say and show but he has gone completely wrong in the storytelling. neither does the movie stands out to be a good action movie nor a sentimental one. unbaked sentimental scenes and weak screenplay spoil the day for harsha in birugaali

chetan scores in his portrayal of hachchi but he could have been better. while his friends have a somewhat authentic tanned look but he seems to be right out of a spa after all the facials and all quite contradictory for the role he portrays.. tara is good in her performance but that doesnt add to the movie's value. sitara vaidya is just ok but dubbing for has gone wrong. charishma has no karishma :P

forgot to tell about kishore... though his acting is good and a major highlight of the movie, the mannerisms really turned me off. sadashiv brahmavar is wasted in a bit role. greece looked really great in the movie.

unnecessary and silly graphics and poor photography at places made me a bit irritated.

the biggest let down was the climax - it is hardly convincing!!!

Junglee - Review

2009-02-09T12:15:00.000+05:30

soap hakkollo tale baachkollo bardedrunu duet haadkollo .....

ticket takkollo film nodokollo sikkapatte tale haal madkollooo :P

this is what i felt about the movie!!

really i pity suri for his desparate attempt to give a hit after duniya and the debacle inti ninna preetiya...and here in junglee he crosses all the limits of sense and sensitivity towards the audience. the story (??) if there is one is hardly new to us and he tries to mix it up with non-stop nonsensical dialogues in the first half of the movie and loads and loads of bloodbath in the second half. Suri has tried hard to cover up the poor story with the intolerably vulgar dialogues, lots of blood and action in the movie.

we love watching vijay in action scenes he does that well no doubts about that but with rangayana raghu here in the first half, he does a mockery of himself trying to be better than rangayana raghu in overacting or over enthusiasm for dialogue delivery (whatever u call it). Though i enjoyed the dirty dialogues at that moment but i felt later that what the hell was it, why was it required etc.,

vijay is good in action and emotions.he imitates tiger prabhakar very well at places. aindrita looks cool n hot, rangayana raghu is as usual loud and irritating at times(but i really appreciate his acting and comedy timing prowess), the songs seem to be out of place in the movie but they are the ones which will give some relief from the so called comedy and the violence.

overall very average movie.

Slumdog Millionaire - my view

2009-01-27T11:30:00.005+05:30

Here is what Arindam Choudhry writes about the so-called great masterpiece "Slumdog Millionaire"

http://arindamchaudhuri.blogspot.com/2009/01/dont-see-slumdog-millionaire-it-sucks.html

and my comments about the same :

Hello Arindam,
I truly agree with your view on Slumdog Millionaire. It portrays India and Indians in a really bad manner. Except for the background score of the movie nothing is great about the movie. The story is a direct lift from some of the 1970s Hindi masala movies. Only thing is they have blended the old story with the craze of Who wants to be a millionaire and cashed in on it.

No doubt slums and slumdwellers are there here in India. Their life is theirs and we know what they go through. Glorifying it in this manner and projecting that slum"dogs" (as they call them in the movie) can be millionaires in this fashion is a cheap act on their part. Some scenes in the movie are too disturbing and they project India and Indians in a really bad way. Espicially the instance wherein a US tourist couple's car is looted and the driver hits Jamaal. The US lady offering some XYZ dollars to Jamaal saying this is what US is! This was utter crappy projection of what outsiders think of us. Also one more instance is the scene wherein the people watch Jamaal answering the questions on TV. They sit on pavements outside the TV shops and watch and cheer. Strange that Mr Director doesnt know the penetration of TV in India.

Totally its a crappy movie and every Indian who feels for his country should oppose it for the way we and our people are projected in it.

I pity Anil Kapoor and Irfan Khan who have been projecting and promoting this movie to be a classic movie despite knowing what they are here.

Unqoute

These are only some instances which came to my mind while commenting on his blog. But there are many more points which came to my mind when I saw the movie which I will share soon.

More on this :

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/2009/02/19/12563/index.html

Nanda - Audio

2009-01-05T17:21:00.000+05:30

Nanda - Audio

Don’t know what V Manohar is upto. I feel this audio of Shivarjkumar’s Nanda is weak(one more instance was in Gandugali Kumararama) and too outdated. The music is not at all impressive. At times Manohar sounds like he is trying to ape Manomurthy in using tunes of hindi movies of 1960s and 70s.

Chingari chingari in the voice of Vijay Prakash fails to build up the tempo in the beginning itself. Wonder if this song would be picturized on Shivanna. This truly doesn’t suit his image.

Akasha Aagale rendered by Rajesh Krishnan and Nandita is a passable duet with lyrics by Jayant Kaikini. As told already, the music sounds too outdated. Nothing great about the lyrics.

Oh Idenaytu is a patho sung by Keshav Krishna and lyrics by Maheen kicks off well but fails to keep up the momentum later.

Yaava Kadegu is a good duet in the voice of Chinmayee and Akaanksha Baadami with lyrics by V Manohar. Akaanksha is good to hear but Chinmayee croons badly. He truly needs some improvement.

Ninna Kangalalli is one more duet in the voice of Udit Narayan and Akaanksha Baadami and has lyrics by Shivananjegowda. The music again resembles the music from the 70s hindi movies.

Pretty average album as a whole!!

Birugaali - Audio

2009-01-04T09:49:00.001+05:30

Birugaali Audio

Kannada music is surely coming off age!! New breed of music directors are really promising and giving a refreshing feel to Kannada film music. Music director Arjun is back after Nam Areal Ond Dina in Birugaali, choreographer turned director Harsha's next venture with Chetan, Sitara Vaidya and Karishma in the lead.

7 foot tapping numbers with some great lyrics make this album a worth hearing one!!

The album kicks off with an out and out mass number "Machchi Sachchi" with lyrics by Shivnanjegowda is rendered beautifully by Shankar Mahadevan.

Shreya Ghoshal next builds up the tempo with her superb vocals in the truly poetic "Hoovina Baanadante". Lyrics by Jayant Kaikini are very impressive!

The next song "Helbid Helbide" sung by Arjun and lyrics by Kaviraj and Mahesh Kumar is an ultimate dance number which will surely hit the top of the charts! Arjun's accented Kannada and th e rock touch given makes this an enjoyable number.

"Amma Amma" is a soothing number sung by Arjun with lyrics by Ranganath.

Beware!! Mohit Chauhan joins in here to compete with other non-kannada singers and he rocks with Shamita Malnad in the romantic "Madhura Pisumaatige" written by the lover poet Jayant Kaikini. The lyrics, the music and rendition of the song by the singers make this a hummable song.

"Jojo Laali" in the voice of Chitra and lyrics by Ranganath is a good slow song.

Arjun gives a different touch to even the patho song "Idu Nanna Kathe" by using two voices - Vijay Prakash and Hamsapriya. The lyrics by Harshapriya are just ok!

The title bit "Birugaali" is ok to hear!

There are versions of "Amma Amma" by Srinivas and "Helbide Helbide" by Jassie Gift to add to the album's completeness.

The picturization of the songs in Greece and the storyline of the movie has surely invoked more interest in the movie in the people's mind and hope it will live up to the expectations.

All the best to Harsha!!

Kaaranjji | Audio

2008-12-24T17:24:00.001+05:30

Took this up to write after long time!! No other audio in the recent days had pushed me so much to write about.

If we have to go by the music of this album, it surely has a great impact which is quite enough to make the movie rock!!

Kumbaaraki is the song which steals the show. With the unique touch of rock given to the Santa Shishunaala Sharif's composition, this surely will captivate the listeners. The music is truly engrossing but Sukhwinder's pronounciation could have been better when rendering this highlight number of the album. Despite this, the song just rocks in both its versions.

Ninna Hallige in Raghu Dixit's voice is a great number with nice folk touch. Raghavendra Kamath descirbes the village environment and a village girl's simplicity and beauty very well.

Ee Dina Hosadaagide in the voice of Karthik is very soothing with the lyrics by Sateesh Tiptur and the peppy music complementing the romantic morning mood.

T P Kailasam's Kolike Ranga in the voice of Veer Samarth is a treat to listen. Reminds us that TPK's wordings are not forgotten yet in the music world.

Yaaru Haadada in the voice of Hariharan is a slow song with nice guitar usage. The lyrics by Sridhar are very meaningful. I feel this might come out as a background song during some scenes. The only slow song in this album but the guitars and Hariharan fill life into the song.

H S Venkateshmurthy's composition Murida Manada which we had heard only as Bhaavageete is given a rock touch here. And believe me. It Rocks!!!! Vijay Prakash and Apoorva Sridhar render this song beautifully. Hats off to Veer Samarth for this different effort!!

Ee Tampu Gaali sung by Hariharan, Fayaz Khan, Bombay Jayashree and Kushala and lyrics by Raghavendra Kamath is a slow love song. The mix of slow music and Qawwali style of music is quite new to listen here in Kannada and again Veer Samarth carries this on very well.

Nammora Santheli is a nice parody number. Well sung buy Veer Samarth and Sridevi Malegatti.

Sutta Muttalu in the voice of Gurukiran is also good to hear. Rajan Nagendra's music is lively even today and its proven in this song.

Even the miniscule Alaapa, Naadadimpu and Themes leave a big impression about the music filled in the movie.

Totally, its really a treat to listen to this great album!! Grab it... Dont miss it!!

Waiting for the movie now after the audio......

Sadarame@Rangashankara Nov 9th, 2008

2008-11-10T11:12:00.000+05:30

Sadarame

Sadarame is one of the most successful productions of Gubbi Veeranna. The story revolves around an innocent middle-class girl, Sadarame who marries Prince Jayaveera. And that’s when all the troubles began for Sadarame. Even as hardships challenge young Sadarame, she overcomes every hurdle with her characteristic intelligence and the play ends on a happy note. The highlight of this Gubbi Company play is actor director B. Jayashree playing the role of Kalla, the thief immortalized by her grandfather, the legendary Gubbi Veeranna.

Written by Bellave Narahari Shastry, the play Sadarame stands out as a window to the world for the problems a woman has to face in present day society. Topical during the days of Gubbi Veeranna, the story fits to even today’s world. Keeping the original act intact, many references to present day happenings and witty comparisions make this a treat to watch. The play and presentation enlightens everyone who has known the world of theatre and also the people who are new the world of theatre and who have seen only modern plays. It portrays the usage of Ranga Geetegalu and the soliloquy situations to a large extent bringing in front of us the mesmerizing world of the theatre of the old days and the techniques they used.

The major highlight of the play was Jayashree enacting the role of the thief. The character’s entry, the act, the song and the witty dialogues were hugely applauded by the packed audience with cries of once more. Next to impress was Dingri Nagaraj as Sadarame’s brother. Many other veterans in the play also performed well. But the youngsters really seemed to ponder a bit about combining the singing and acting portions. The music and the songs used lifted the mood of the play to the real heights.

For many who witnessed the play, it was like remembering and paying tribute the great playwright and the Nataka Company. Also the act coincided with the last day of the Rangashankara Theatre Fest for 2008 (November 9th 2008) which also happens to be Late Shankar Nag’s birthday. B Jayashree dedicated her revival of Sadarame to the great actor Shankarnag, her grandfather Gubbi Veeranna and the maestro Master Hirannaiyah who also has been performing his version of the same play.

Next time you hear about this play being staged somewhere, don’t miss it!! It’s a must watch for all the theatre enthusiasts and also for the people who want to know about the Nataka companies and their act.

Haage Summane - Audio

2008-10-23T21:14:00.001+05:30

Haage Summane ... Pyaar Hogaya

Zee Motion Pictures | Dharma Pictures Productions
Producers : T C Murali Mohan, Pramod N, Santosh
Direction : Preetam Gubbi
Music : Mano Murthy
Lyrics : Jayant Kaikini

Dont be surprised if you feel you are listening to some 1970s OP Nayyar songs! [Trademark of Mano Murthy??]

Sonu as usual renders the songs well. He impresses in the title track Haage Summane and Odi Bandenu. In Odi Bandenu his singing surely will remind you of Rafi!!!

Shreya is used in two numbers - a simple duet with Udit Narayan which is Naanenu Nambodilla and in female version of Odi Bandenu and she rocks in the second one.

Haadonave is a passable number. Nothing much to say about Kunal and Sunidhi's crooning.

Oorella Koogi rendered by Keshav Prasad and Supriya Ramakrishnayya is a nice song with soothing music. The usage of musical instruments reminds of old hindi songs.

Title song and Odi Bandenu will mostly stand out as popular numbers. Or else its a bit disappointing fare!

Maadesha - Shivanna's next!! - Audio

2008-07-03T21:07:00.002+05:30

Maadesha

Cast : Shivraj Kumar, Sonu Bhatia, Ravi Kaale, Ravi Belegere

Producer : B M Govinda Murthy

Director : Ravi Srivatsa

Music : Mano Murthy

Ravi Srivatsa is back after the debacle of 'Ee Rajeev Gandhi Alla" .... Maadesha and this time he his back with the best he can get - Shivraj Kumar and Mano Murthy.

"Tirugo Ee Bhoomige" sung by Vijay Prakash with lyrics by V Nagendra Prasad and Kaviraj starts off with tune of James Bond theme. The song expresses the heroic acts of the prime character in the movie. Not much in lyrics and very average music.

"Taarammayya" sung by Hemanth and Sunidhi Chauhan and lyrics by V Manohar sounds like an item number with some naughty singing by Sunidhi. Hemanth supports well.

"Munjaane Manjaagu" sung by Kunal Ganjawala and Sunidhi Chauhan with lyrics by Kaviraj is a nice peppy duet beautified very well with the guitar music. The lyrics are also very good.

"Maadesha" sung by Gurukiran(???) and lyrics by V Nagendra Prasad. Fast beats, music and different voice of Gurukiran with an underground and mafia world touch make this an interesting song.

"Lahari" sung by Sonu Nigam and lyrics by Jayant Kaikini is a nice song with lyrics telling about the feel of love. Sonu surely needs pronounciation classes if he has to come up clean in his future
Kannada Album.

"Gantu Gantu" sung by Hemanth, Keshav and Srividya and lyrics by Hrudayashiva is a song with folk touch.

"Lahari" again in its female version and who else other than Shreya Ghoshal can take it to the musically best heights. She sounds much much better than Sonu in this version. She gives a neat rendition of this beautifully written number.

A good album overall with the great "Lahari" and "Munjaane Manjaagu"! Quite different from the usual Mano Murthy. Got to see wait and see how the songs would be brought on screen.

Taj Mahal - Audio

2008-07-03T20:38:00.003+05:30

Taj Mahal

Starring : Ajay, Pooja Gandhi

Music : Abhimann

Director : R. Chandru

Producer : T Shivashankar Reddy

"Khushiyaagide Yeko Ninnindale" sung by Kunal Ganjawala is a melodious number expressing a guy's love for his girl. The lyrics by R Chandru are simple and music suits the mood of the song very well.

"Neenendu Nannavanu" sung by Shreya Ghoshal and lyrics by R Chandru is the best song of the album expressing the girl's longing for her guy. Shreya's beautiful rendition of the song adds a great to its simple yet soothing music.

"Hoovantha Preeti Mullada Mele" sung by Hariharan and Supriya with lyrics by K Kalyan is a song about parted lovers and their longing for being together. Music is good with different flavors probably suiting the visuals.

"Nee Nanna Hrudaya" sung by Rajesh Krishnan and lyrics by Abhimaan is the male version of Neenendu Nannavanu aptly sung by Rajesh. The lyrics are very touching.

"Kolluvudaadare Kondubidu" sung by Badri Prasad and lyrics by Manju Honnavar is a patho song wherein a guy is repenting for his mistake in love. Badri Prasad impresses with his singing.

"Ibbaru Preetina" sung by Abhiman and lyrics by Manjunanth Lava wherein a guy is reminding his girl about the love they had shared. Abhiman's voice is good and he surely has potential to become a good singer cum composer.

"Preeti Annodu" sung by Chetan with lyrics by Lokesh Krishna is a tiny bit about love.

Good album!! The songs and music are soothing and fresh. Good one from Abhimann!!

Khushiyagide video has come out well though it reminds us of the sets of some previous super hit songs.

Golden Star's Bombaat

2008-07-02T20:35:00.002+05:30

Bombaat

Producer : Rockline Venkatesh
Director : D Rajendrababu
Music : Mano Murthy

The much hyped audio of Bombaat - Idu Ganeshana Aata was released on Golden Star's birthday today (2nd July 2008). Here Golden Star teams up with Ramya with for the first time.

The combination of Mano Murthy -Jayant Kaikini - Sonu Nigam once again is interesting here.

The album kicks off with the solo "Maatinalli Helalaarenu" sung by Sonu Nigam with lyrics by Jayant Kaikini. The song is a slow melodious number praising the beauty of an unknown girl/lover. Sonu delivers the song well. The lyrics are innovative and interesting.

"Strawberry Kenne" sung by Rajesh Krishnan and Supriya Ramakrishnaiah and lyrics by Kaviraj is a melodious and cute duet with simple lyrics. Rendered very well by Rajesh and Supriya. Rajesh's voice shows lots of variations in this song through which he proves he is no less than other "imported" singers.

"I Am So Bombaat" sung by Gurukiran(???) and lyrics by Kaviraj. Sounds like intro song of the hero. Not much content in lyrics and also Gurukiran's singing.

"Maatinalli Helaballenu" sung by the enchanting Shreya Ghoshal is the female version of "Maatinalli Helalaarenu" is a superb extension with good lyrics and soothing music. As usual, Shreya steals the show with her singing.

"Chinna Hele Hegiruve" is a duet sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal with lyrics by Jayant Kaikini. Kaikini's words bring some freshness to the duet and are aptly rendered.

The music though not that great is pleasant to hear. Worth listening. Music will pick up slowly for sure!!!

Mussanje Maatu - Audio

2008-04-17T20:48:00.001+05:30

Mussanje Maatu - Audio

Starring: Sudeep, Ramya, Anu Prabhakar

Music: V. Sridhar

Director: Mahesh

Producer: Suresh Jain

Ninna Nodalendo is a melodious duet sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal with lyrics by Ram Narayan.

Kaddalu Manasanna is a pacy dance number sung beautifully by Kunal Ganjawala and lyrics is by V Manohar.

Akasha Bhoomi with lyrics by V Sridhar and sung beautifully by Shreya Ghoshal. No doubt shes the best!! This slightly reminded of Barso Re Barso Megha from Guru - the feel of the song.

Enagali Munde Saagu Nee sung by Sonu Nigam and lyrics by V Sridhar is an inspirational number to go ahead in life. Start of the song is "inspired" by song of movie Tum Bin.

Mussanje Maatali, the title song is an awesome song sung by Hemant and has lyrics by Bhaskar Gubbi. Great music and we can get to hear Hemant at his best!!

Anuraga Aralo Samaya sung by Karthik and lyrics by Kaviraj has great music and Karthik sounds fresh. The orchestration is awesome in this song! Great lyrics!!!

O Hrudaya is a patho song penned by V Sridhar and sung well by Udit Narayan. But patho songs dont sound good in the voice of Udit.

Hettavala Muddu Maatu sung by Nandita and lyrics by Revanna is a cool lullaby song.

Best Buy!!! I just enjoyed listening to music of Mussanje Maatu. The music has made me wait anxiously for the movie!!

Minchina Ota - Audio

2008-04-17T20:20:00.000+05:30

Minchina Ota - Audio

Starring : Vijaya Raghavendra, Sri Murrali, Lakshmi Rai
Music : V Manohar
Producer: Sa Ra Govindu
Direction: A M R Ramesh

We Love You Love Ganesha sung by Leelvati Baipaaditya and lyrics by V Manohar. A good number with a touch of Yakshagaana. V Manohar has mixed traditional Yakshagaana music and modern instruments well. Intersting one to listen. The changeover from Yakshagaana to rap style is interesting.

O Geleya rendred by Raghu Dixit is a pacy number with lyrics by Dharani. Different voice of Raghu Dixit makes it a bit unpleasant to hear this song about fighting for love.

Aa Moda Hani Aytu sung by Vijay Yesudas is a pleasant song written by Chandru S L. The music though reminds of Ello Adu Ello song from Kanasugara.

Hey Huduga sung by M D Pallavi with lyrics by Chandru S L is a superb song sung very well by Pallavi. The raunchy voice gives a different feel to the song.

Minchante Bandu Mareyaade is a melodious song sung by Vijay Yesudas and Bhavatarani Ilayaraja and lyrics by Pradeepkumar.Vijay's voice surely will remind voice of Yesudas. Bhavitarani sounds promising but can improve.

Hey Premi has lyrics by Chandru S L is rendered by Raghu Dixit is an extended version of O Geleya.

O Megha Hogi Baa sung by Vijay Yesudas and lyrics by Chandru S L is a song about sending love message to his beloved.

Allondu Sanna Aase sung by Mangala Ravi with lyrics by V Manohar preaches about whats important for life.

Jwale Jwale sung by Vijay Prakash and lyrics by Girish Mavalli is an interesting song with pacy music and hard hitting lyrics explaining heroics. Vijay Prakash is good in this.

Tangaali Illi Baa sung by Lakshmi Manamohan and lyrics by Chandru S L and Madhugiri where a girl describes her lover. Lakshmi sounds a bit strange and hence needs improvement.

Good effort by V Manohar. A bit unconventional music overall. The newcomers need improvement. It would be interesting to watch how these songs would be adapted in the movie.

Accident - Audio

2008-04-03T09:36:00.007+05:30

Accident - Audio

Starring Ramesh Arvind, Rekha, Pooja Gandhi, Mohan, Pathi Iyer, Tilak, Dinesh Babu
Music Ricky Kej
Director Ramesh Aravind
Producer Raghunath G

Baa Maleye Baa
Sonu Nigam
Lyrics : BR Lakshman Rao

- Great to hear a old poem written by BR Lakshman Rao being adapted for a movie. Nothing can be said about the lyrics. Sonu is just awesome

Ninade Ninade Nenapu
S P Balasubramanyam
Lyrics : Rajendra Karanth

- A nice melodious number with good lyrics. SPB is the apt choice.

Jigidu Banthu
Kunal Ganjawala
Lyrics : Kannadiga Shivu

- One more of the fast Kunal Ganjawala fast tracks. Not much to say about this.

Friendship Andre
Avinash Chebbi, Devan Ekambaram, Ben Jhonson
Lyrics : Rajendra Karanth

- Rap mixed song telling abt friendship. Good rendition and good music.

Dheem Dheem
Sonu Nigam, Mahalakshmi Iyer
Lyrics : Rajendra Karanth

- Good duet. Good music arrangement make it a good one to listen to. Both the singers have given a nice classical touch to the song.

Preethi Moodo Vele
Chaitra HG
Lyrics : Rajendra Karanth

-Nice song! Good Lyrics and great to hear Chaitra. The music is a bit too loud for the mood of the song.

Jigidu Banthu
Kunal Ganjawala, Chaitra HG
Lyrics : Kannadiga Shivu

- Party and dance number. Chaitra as usual puts life to the song.

Baa Maleye Baa (Club Mix)
Sonu Nigam
Lyrics : BR Lakshman Rao

The Spirit of Accident
Ramesh Aravind

- Dialouge bits

Worth listening album!! Go for it!! Ricky Kej who has done his debut in Kannada proves his talent as a music director also besides being a dentist and having a succesful fusion music career behind him.

Mookajjiya Kanasugalu @ Rangashankara

2008-03-15T13:01:00.003+05:30

Mookajjiya Kanasugalu @ Rangashankara

Mookajjiya Kanasugalu is a 120 mins Kannada play staged by Kalagangotri at Rangashankara on 13th, 14th and 15th March 2008 as a part of 38th year completion of Kalagangotri. The successful staging of Shivaram Karanth’s novel Mookajjiya Kanasugalu is a tribute to the great writer who had won the Jnanapeeth award for this novel.

The play revolves around Mookajji, an old woman staying in a tiny village in Dakshina Kannada and her visions on wide ranging issues like religion, bachelorhood, history, sex, evolution, faith and human behaviour. All these she shares with her grandson Subbanna. Though known as a person who talks too much, Mookajji is a lovable character with her sceptical and genuinely compassionate nature, humane acts (her advice to Nagi and when she unites Ramanna and Nagi , both low caste workers and old lovers) and frankness (in a scene with her friend Thippajji whom she calls Thippi).

References to various religions and beliefs, the innumerable gods in Hindu mythology, their relevance, the questioning of their existence and their powers, their relativity with human nature surely will bring some thoughts about our personal beliefs.

The abstract thoughts, uncommon characterisation and above all, the distinct style of narration in the novel has always posed a challenge to theatre persons. S Ramamurthy, senior theatre person, has adapted this unique literary work to stage and director B V Rajaram brings this spectacular novel on stage with his narrative skills and unique sets. The dialect used in the play is very much close to the actual one spoken in Dakshina Kannada. The two minute yakshagana performance adds more color to the play.

All performances are worth mentioning here. Shailaja Dharmendra as Mookajji has given a wonderful performance with all her emotions. Rajendra Karanth as Subbanna is good as usual. It’s a great teamwork which has succeeded in giving out the best. Congrats to Kalagangotri for adapting to stage a novel which otherwise is said to be hard to adapt.

Mukhyamantri @ Rangashankara

2008-03-15T12:26:00.002+05:30

Mukhyamantri @ Rangashankara

Mukhyamantri – the play which catapulted Chandru into stardom and because of which he even got his name Mukhyamantri Chandru was staged at Rangashankara by Kalagangotri troupe on 11th and 12th of March 2008 as a part of the the 38th year completion of Kalagangotri.

The play “Mukhyamantri” has been translated in Kannada by T.S. Lohitashwa from Hindi written by Ranjit Kapoor and it has been directed by Dr.B.V. Rajaram.

The play is a political intrigue, highlighting the strategies employed by the Chief Minister to win back confidence within 48 hours. The play begins with turmoil in the political circles of Udayanchala state. The Chief Minister Krishna Dwayapayana Kaushal (Mukhyamantri Chandru) loses the confidence of his party, at the end of his five-year term. He is, however, retained as the caretaker Chief Minister for a period of 48 hours, after which voting in the next elections begins. From the start, it is clear that Sudharshan Dubey, the president of the party, plots to overthrow Kaushal and become the next Chief Minister. But not wanting to give up, Kaushal launches a series of well-planned schemes to hold on to power. How he succeeds in his plans and in the process how his personal life is also affected is interesting to watch on stage.

A great performance by Mukhyamantri Chandru is what we have to look out for. He has played the character since 1980 when the play was initially staged and since then it has been staged more than 400 times. No doubt that he proves his mettle as the plotter and winner. He completely and constantly hovers in our mind as well as on stage during the two hour play and we will be left with no words but to appreciate his caliber as an actor. Bhargavi Narayan as the chief-minister’s wife impresses. All the other actors play their role well. Since it is packed with lots of characters, I find it difficult to mention everyone here.

Great adaptation for stage by B V Rajaram. Don’t miss it if you want to know the behind the scenes activities of politics and don’t be surprised if you find the proceedings similar to what is prevalent in present day politics also.

Gaalipata - Movie Review

2008-01-20T19:45:00.000+05:30

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

2008-01-20T07:34:00.000+05:30

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.

Honganasu - Audio

2007-12-31T23:06:00.000+05:30

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

2007-12-28T06:01:00.000+05:30

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

2007-12-28T05:32:00.000+05:30

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

2007-12-15T09:53:00.000+05:30

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

2007-11-20T08:49:00.000+05:30

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

2007-10-21T22:20:00.000+05:30

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

2007-10-21T07:52:00.000+05:30

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

2007-10-12T09:28:00.000+05:30

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)

2007-10-11T15:04:00.000+05:30

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

2007-10-10T15:34:00.000+05:30

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

2007-08-26T22:05:00.000+05:30

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

2007-08-15T21:18:00.000+05:30

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

2007-07-23T15:52:00.000+05:30

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

2007-07-08T11:53:00.001+05:30

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

2007-07-08T11:15:00.000+05:30

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

2007-05-12T12:29:00.000+05:30

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

2007-04-28T15:53:00.000+05:30

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.

2007-04-27T09:23:00.000+05:30

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)

2007-04-22T07:18:00.000+05:30

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)

2007-04-21T20:54:00.000+05:30

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

2007-04-10T06:41:00.000+05:30

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

2007-04-08T15:44:00.000+05:30

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

2007-04-08T15:22:00.000+05:30

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

2007-04-08T15:14:00.000+05:30

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.

Preeti Yeke Bhoomi Melide - Audio Review

2007-03-19T22:17:00.000+05:30

Preeti Yeke Bhoomi Melide - A New Philosophy

Album covers are very attractive. Have come with different combinations – Sevanti Sevanti, Jote Joteyali, Prem’s Favourite, RP Patnaik’s Hits etc., Music is by R P Patnayak and Prem has penned five songs…. The cover thanks GuruKiran…. God knows why!

First song, the title song “Ee Preeti Yeke Bhoomi Melide….” Penned and sung by Prem himself is melodious and has got a hummable tune but lacks variety in the lyrics.

“Magalu Doddolaadlu” again written by Prem and sung by C Ashwath, Kalpana and Prem himself sounds like an item number explaining about the Kannada nadu and its people.

Next comes the most melodious song in the album “Neenene” written by Kaviraj and sung by Roopkumar Rathod and Chitra. Beautiful usage of words neenu and naanu which have been woven beautifully to give a romantic feel.

“Baarayya Baarayya” is written by Sudarshan and sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Supriya Acharya. It has got the jaanapada feel and reminds of “Ello Jogappa Nin Aramane” from Jogi.

“Chandamaama Kaige Sigade” is written by Prem and sung by Shreya Ghoshal. It has got good chorus by children and the lyrics remind us of all the halli games we played.

“Ee Jana Ee Mana” written by Prem and sung by Nihaal and R P Patnayak. It has got the tunes of Vande Mataram and is a patriotic number.

“Chandamama Baa” is written by Kaviraj and sung by Shreya Ghoshal. It has good and funny lyrics about feelings of a girl towards chandamama. Music reminds of some Telugu number, but it is nice.

“Kallanivanu” is written by V Nagendra Prasad and sung by Nityashree and Rajesh Krishnan. It is a romantic duet with good chorus. Music oscillates between western and Indian classical at times. Its got nice peppy beats. I loved the usage of Saxophone in this song. I personally feel it is one song wherein Rajesh Krishnan is under-utilized.

“O Huduga” is written by Kaviraj and sung by Kunal Ganjawala and Chitra. Nice lyrics and good singing by Chitra. A girl is complaining about her guy’s carelessness towards love and he trying to justify. Kunal hasn’t got much to sing here.

“Sulle Sullu” is written by Prem and sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Kailash Kher. A song about lies and its mahime in this world. Kailash Kher has sung well with good company by Shankar Mahadevan.

Overall it is an album worth listening to… some songs are going to be good hits just because of their variety, melody and good lyrics.

My Suggestion – GRAB IT!!!

ಆವರಣೋಕ್ತಿಗಳು

2007-03-02T15:42:00.000+05:30

ಕೃಪೆ : ಎಸ್. ಎಲ್. ಭೈರಪ್ಪ ಮತ್ತು ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಭಂಡಾರ

ಸತ್ಯವನ್ನು ಮರೆಮಾಚುವ ಮಾಯೆಯ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಆವರಣವೆಂದೂ ಅಸತ್ಯವನ್ನು ಬಿಂಬಿಸುವ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ವಿಕ್ಷೇಪವೆಂದೂ ಹೆಸರು.

ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಫಾಲಿಂಗ್ ಇನ್ ಲವ್ ಎಂಬ ಉಕ್ತಿ ಎಷ್ಟು ಅರ್ಥಪೂರ್ಣವಾದದ್ದು. ಫಾಲ್, ಬೀಳುವುದು. ಪ್ರೇಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಬೀಳುವಾಗ, ಬಿದ್ದಾಗ ಹಿಂದು ಮುಂದು, ಪೂರ್ವಾಪರದ ಆಲೋಚನೆ ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಹ್ಯಾಗೋ ಆಗತ್ತೆ ಎಂಬ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞಾಪೂರ್ವಕ ಅಸ್ಪಷ್ಟತೆಯೇ ಮುನ್ನಡೆಸುತ್ತೆ. ಈ ಅಸ್ಪಷ್ಟತೆ ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಮುನ್ನಡೆ ಇಲ್ಲ.

ಈ ಆಲದ ಮರ ಒಂದು ಸಮರ್ಪಕ ಪ್ರತಿಮೆಯಾಗಿದೆ ಅಲ್ವಾ? ಮೂಲ ಮರ ಹರಡಿ ಸುತ್ತ ಬಿಳಲುಬಿಟ್ಟು, ಆ ಹಲವಾರು ಬಿಳಲುಗಳೇ ನೆಲದೊಳಕ್ಕೆ ಇಳಿದು ಬೇರುಗಳಾಗಿ ಅವುಗಳೆಲ್ಲ ಒಂದೊಂದೂ ಬೆಳೆದು ಹರಡಿ ಹತ್ತು ಹಲವು ಬಿಳಲುಗಳನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಇದೊಂದು ನೂರಾರು ಬೇರುಗಳ ವಿಶಾಲವೃಕ್ಷದಂತೆ ಕಾಣಿಸುತ್ತಲ್ಲವಾ? ಈ ವೃಕ್ಷದ ಮೂಲ ಬೇರು ಯಾವುದು ಹೇಳು ನೋಡೋಣ? ವಾಸ್ತವ ಅಂದರೆ ಮೂಲ ಬೇರು ಸತ್ತು ಹೋಗಿದೆ. ಯಾವ ಬೇರಾದರೂ ಎಷ್ಟು ದಿನ ಬದುಕಿರುಕ್ಕೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯ? ನೆಲಕ್ಕಿಳಿದ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಬಿಳಲೂ ತಾನೇ ಮೂಲ ಬೇರು ಅಂತ ಉದ್ಛೋಷಿಸಿಕೊತ್ತಿದೆ. ನಮ್ಮ ಧರ್ಮವೂ ಹೀಗೆಯೇ ಅಲ್ಲವಾ?

ಹಿಂದೂಗಳು ತುಂಬ ಸಂಕುಚಿತರು, ಅನ್ಯಧರ್ಮೀಯರನ್ನು ಕೀಳೆಂದು ಭಾವಿಸುವ ವಿಗ್ರಹಾರಕ ಜನಾಂಗದವರು ಎಂದು ನನ್ನ ಅಜ್ಜ ಅಜ್ಜಿಯರು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದುದು ಈಗ ನೆನಪಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ

ಬ್ರಿಟೀಷರ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಹೋರಾಡಿದವನೆಂಬ ಕಾರಣವನ್ನು ಮುಂದೆ ಮಾಡಿ ಟಿಪ್ಪುವನ್ನು ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರನಾಯಕನೆನ್ನಬಹುದಾದರೆ ಅದೇ ಬ್ರಿಟೀಷರ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಹೋರಾಡಿದ ಮರಾಠರನ್ನೇಕೆ ಈ ಇತಿಹಾಸಕಾರರು-ಸಾಹಿತಿಗಳು ವ್ಯೆಭವೀಕರಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ?

ಇರುವ ಊರುಗಳ ಹೆಸರು ಬದಲಿಸುವುದು ಒಬ್ಬ ಜೀವಂತ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಧರ್ಮಾಂತರಿಸುವಷ್ಟೇ ಹೀನ ಕೃತ್ಯ

೧೭೯೧ರಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂರನೆಯ ಮ್ಯೆಸೂರು ಯುದ್ಧವಾಗಿ ಸೋತು ಬ್ರಿಟೀಷರಿಗೆ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಮೊತ್ತದ ಸಂಪತ್ತನ್ನೂ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಭಾಗಗಳನ್ನೂ ಒಪ್ಪಿಸಿ ಇಬ್ಬರೂ ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನೂ ಯುದ್ಧಬಂಧಿಯಾಗಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟ ಮೇಲೆ ಶೃಂಗೇರಿ ಮಠಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾಣಿಕೆ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಹಿಂದೂಗಳ ಅಸಮಾಧಾನವನ್ನು ಕಡಿಮೆ ಮಾಡಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸಿದುದನ್ನು ಇವತ್ತಿನ ಎಳಸು ಹಿಂದೂಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಜಾತ್ಯಾತೀತವಾದಿಗಳು ದೊಡ್ಡದು ಮಾಡಿ ಟಿಪ್ಪುವನ್ನೊಬ್ಬ ಧರ್ಮಸಹಿಷ್ಣುವೆಂದು ಬಿಂಬಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ

ತಮಿಳುನಾಡಿನ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಮರು ತಮಿಳನ್ನು ಇಂದಿಗೂ ಮಾತನಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ; ಆದರೆ ಮ್ಯೆಸೂರಿನ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಮರು ಇಂದಿಗೂ ಉರ್ದು ಮಾತನಾಡುವುದು ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಿ ಬರೆಯದೆ ಇರುವುದು ಟಿಪ್ಪು ಆರಂಭಿಸಿದ ಫ಼ಾರ್ಸಿ ಮತ್ತು ಉರ್ದು ವಿದ್ಯಾಭ್ಯಾಸ ಪದ್ಢತಿಯಿಂದ

ಪ್ರಾಯಶ್ಚಿತ್ತದಲ್ಲಿ ಆ ತಪ್ಪನ್ನು ಮತ್ತೆ ಮಾಡುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನುವ ನಿಶ್ಚಯವೂ ಸೇರಿರುತ್ತಲ್ಲವೆ?

ವಿಜಯನಗರದಲ್ಲಿ ಶೈವ ಮತ್ತು ವೈಷ್ಣವರು ಅನಾಗರಿಕ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊಡೆದಾಡಿ ರಕ್ತದ ಕಾಲುವೆ ಹರಿಸಿದುದನ್ನು ಇತ್ತೀಚಿನ ಸಂಶೋಧನೆಗಳು ಬೆಳಕಿಗೆ ತಂದಿವೆ. ಈಗ ನಾವು ನೋಡಿ ದುಃಖಿಸುವ ಭಗ್ನಗೊಂಡಿರುವ ವಿಗ್ರಹ ಮತ್ತು ಮಂದಿರಗಳೆಲ್ಲ ವಿಷ್ಣುವಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದವು. ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿನರಸಿಂಹಮೂರ್ತಿ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಜಯವಿಠ್ಠಲ ಮಂದಿರಗಳು ಇವಕ್ಕೆ ಎದ್ದು ಕಾಣುವ ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗಳು ಮಾತ್ರ. ಆದರೆ ಶೈವರ ವಿರೂಪಾಕ್ಷ ದೇವಾಲಯವು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪವೂ ಮುಕ್ಕಾಗದೆ ಇಂದಿಗೂ ರಾರಾಜಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ ಯಾಕೆ? ನರಸಿಂಹ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಜಯವಿಠ್ಠಲಗಳನ್ನು ನಾಶಮಾಡಿದವರು ಅಲ್ಲಿಯ ಶೈವರು. ತಿರುಪತಿಯ ಅಂದರೆ ವೈಷ್ಣವರ ಅಂದರೆ ಆಂಧ್ರರ ದಬ್ಬಾಳಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಸಹಿಸಲಾಗದೆ ಸ್ಥಳೀಯ ಶೈವರೇ ಮುಸಲ್ಮಾನ ದೊರೆಗಳನ್ನು ಆಹ್ವಾನಿಸಿ ಅವರಿಗೆ ವಿಜಯನಗರದ ಆಯಕಟ್ಟಿನ ಸ್ಥಳಗಳನ್ನು ತೋರಿಸಿದರು. ಇಲ್ಲಿಯ ಸಂಪತ್ತಿನ ಆಶೆಯಿಂದ ಮುಸಲ್ಮಾನ ದೊರೆಗಳು ದಂಡೆತ್ತಿ ಬಂದರು. ಇದೇ ಸಮಯವನ್ನು ಬಳಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಶೈವರು ವೈಷ್ಣವ ವಿಗ್ರಹ ಮತ್ತು ಮಂದಿರಗಳನ್ನು ನಾಶ ಮಾಡಿದರು. ಇಂದಿನ ಕಲವು ಮತಾಂಧರು ಇತಿಹಾಸಕಾರರ ಸೋಗಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಕೃತ್ಯವನ್ನು ಮುಸಲ್ಮಾನರ ತಲೆಗೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ದೇಶದ್ರೋಹವೆಸಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ಈ ಪ್ರಪಂಚದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳಿಗೂ ಬದುಕುವ ಹಕ್ಕಿದೆ. ಅವನ್ನು ಕೊಂದು ತಿನ್ನುವ ಅಧಿಕಾರ ಮನುಷ್ಯನಿಗಿಲ್ಲ. ದೇವರು ಇತರ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳನ್ನು ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಿರೋದು ಮನುಷ್ಯನ ಭೋಗಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಅಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನೋದು ಈ ದೇಶದ ಧರ್ಮಗಳ ತತ್ತ್ವಧರ್ಮಕೆಲಸ ಜಾರಿ ಮಾಡುವಾಗ ಒಂದಲ್ಲ ಹತ್ತು ಲಕ್ಷ ಜನ ತಡೆಯೊಡ್ಡಿದರೂ ಅವರನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಾ ಕೊಲ್ಲುವುದೇ ಧರ್ಮ

ಧರ್ಮಕೆಲಸ ಜಾರಿ ಮಾಡುವಾಗ ಒಂದಲ್ಲ ಹತ್ತು ಲಕ್ಷ ಜನ ತಡೆಯೊಡ್ಡಿದರೂ ಅವರನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಾ ಕೊಲ್ಲುವುದೇ ಧರ್ಮ

ಒಬ್ಬ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಸಾಯುವ ತನಕ ದೈವ ವಿರೋಧಿಯಾಗಿರಬಹುದು. ಸತ್ತ ಮೇಲೆ ಅವನಿಗೂ ಸದ್ಗತಿ ಕೊಡುವುದು ದೇವರ ಗುಣ. ದೇವರು ಯಾರನ್ನೂ ದ್ವೇಷಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅಲ್ಲವೇ?

ದೇವರಿಗಾದರೂ ಛಲ ಬೇಡವೇ? ದೇವರಿಗೇ ಛಲವಿಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಆ ಧರ್ಮದ ಅನುಯಾಯಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಬರಬೇಕು? ಅದಕ್ಕೇ ಈ ಜನಗಳು ಹೇಡಿಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆಯೇ?

ನೆನಪಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಉಳಿಯಲಾರದಷ್ಟು ದೇವಾಲಯಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದರೆ ಇತಿಹಾಸ ತಿಳಿದಂತಾಗುತ್ತದೆಯೆ?

ಹಿಂದೂಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನೂರೆಂಟು ದೇವರುಗಳು. ಇನ್ನು ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಗ್ಗಟ್ಟು ಎಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಬರಬೇಕು?

ನಾವು ನೀತಿಯ, ಆಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮದ ಯಾವ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿರುತ್ತೇವೆಯೋ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಅನುಗುಣವಾದ ದೇವರನ್ನು ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ
ಯಾವುದೋ ಅನಾಗರೀಕ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಅನಾಗರೀಕ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಡಿದ ಕೃತ್ಯ, ಬೋಧಿಸಿದ ನಂಬಿಕೆಗಳನ್ನು ಇವತ್ತೂ ನಂಬಿ ಅನುಸರಿಸುವ ಮನೋಭಾವ ಇರುವ ತನಕ ಭಾವೈಕ್ಯ ಹೇಗೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯ?

ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಪುನರ್ವಿನ್ಯಾಸಗೊಳಿಸುವ ಕೆಲಸವನ್ನು ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳು ಮಾಡಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಸಿದ್ಧಾಂತಗಳಂತೂ ಇವರ ಬೆನ್ನೆಲುಬಾಗಿವೆ. ಇತಿಹಾಸದ ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಸಾಹಿತಿಗಳು ಅವಕ್ಕೆ ತಕ್ಕಂತೆ ಕಥೆ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ನಾಟಕಗಳನ್ನು ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಲೇ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ

ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ಸತ್ಯವನ್ನರಸುವವರು ಯಾರ ಬಗೆಗೂ ಅಗೌರವ ತೋರಿಸಬಾರದು

ಭವಿಷ್ಯದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಆಕಾಂಕ್ಷೆ ಇದ್ದವರಿಗೆ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷಿಗಳ ನೆರವು ಬೇಕು

I just completed reading this wonderful novel by S L Bhyrappa. Whatever has been put above are just excerpts from the novel and they are quoted at random as is told in the novel. Just by these I think anyone can feel what the novel would be about. It deals about our present view on our history, how it is being manipulated and mis-interpreted in our present day text books. Also many other issues like quasi-secularism, religion and vote bank based politics, Hindu-Muslim relationship, traditions of Hindus and Muslims, inter religion marriages, gender inequality, and so on and so forth. So its a well blended novel which treats all these with great deal of detail and sensitivity. Because of its hard hitting comments and statements about the weaker sections of Indian society, this novel has been of much discussion amongst the intellectuals. Welcome note is that it is already in its third edition just within a month of its first edition. Many blogs and newspapers have already carried views on this "would-be" controversial novel. Somewhere a parallel is drawn with Dan Brown's 'The Da-Vinci Code' because of its religious disclosures and overtones. I highly recommend this novel for all Kannada novel lovers and also for people who feel that they did not study the real history.

Will soon write more on this... Comments are welcome!

Eklavya – The Royal Guard

2007-02-17T16:52:00.000+05:30

According to the Mahabharata, Eklavya was a loyal student who gave his thumb as gurudakshina to a Dronacharya, despite the fact that Dronacharya never mentored him. This much is sufficient to understand his loyalty and faith. This movie too showcases loyalty and faith of the main character Eklavya, aptly played by Big B who pledges his loyalty to the royal family even in contemporary times. This one and half hour movie captures our attention because of its technicalities and performances. The story line is very thin but its handled well by the director Vidhu Vinod Chopra who has given us Parinda, Khamosh, 1942-A Love Story, Kareeb, Mission Kashmir … to name a few. The execution of the plot is what captivates us and that’s where he has excelled as in his earlier movies.

Eklavya(Big B) is the guard of a royal family whose fort is in Devigarh somewhere in Rajasthan. His family has been protecting the fort and the family for centuries together. Even Eklavya has spent his entire life serving the family and the fort even in contemporary India. Prince Harshavardhan (Saif Ali Khan) has been in England unable to cope up with the age old customs and traditions followed at his place. He has to come back to India when his mother Rani Suhasinidevi (Sharmila Tagore) passes away after her illness and the king Rana Jayawardhan (Boman Irani) calls for his son. Only people who seem to be happy with the prince’s return to home are Ekalavya, the prince’s sister Nandini (Raima Sen) and his childhood friend Rajjo(Vidya Balan) who is also the daughter of a driver (played by Parikshit Sahani) at the palace. The king’s brother Rana Jyotiwardhan(Jackie Shroff) and his son (played by Jimmy Shergill) are unhappy with their treatment from the king and they would have planned to blemish the king’s name by their plotting against him. Then there is a low caste crude police officer Pannalal Chohar(Sanjay Dutt) who is assigned to investigate these plots and we get to know that Pannalal is a supporter of Eklavya.

With the prince’s return, some truths are disclosed about his birth when he gets to know that he and his sister are not Rana Jayavardhan’s children and also that Eklavya is their real father. These truths shatter the king’s mind he plots to kill Eklavya with his brother’s help. In a surprising turn of events towards the interval, Rana himself is killed even as Eklavya helplessly tries to save him but eventually fails due to problem of his photo sensitive eyes. What follows is Eklavya’s search for the real killers and the turmoil he faces when he gets to know the truth. Eklavya is torn between his loyalty towards the family and his sentiments (these are better watched than told….).

Big B as Eklavya excels as usual. Watching him on-screen is a big treat. Saif Ali Khan again proves that he is a good actor after his performance in Omkara. Vidya Balan is cool and good looking. Sanjay Dutt is good and convincing as the police officer. Boman Irani also has done his best to give the right expressions for the right moment. Jackie Shroff is good as the bad man. But the surprise package of the movie is Jimmy Shergill who gets to show his real acting skills for the first time in his career. He does a very good job as the ruthless villain. Raima Sen is good in a sensible role after a long time. Sharmila Tagore is good as the Rani. Wish we get to see this enchanting actress more on screen. Pariskshit Sahni is good in his cameo role.

The background score is really good and music for the only song ‘Chanda Re’ by Shantanu Moitra is captivating with the real ‘lori’ mood. The visuals of the movie are too good wherein the fort and its various views in various seasons are captured very well by S. Natarajan Subramaniam, the cinematographer. Infact, every frame looks like a marvelous painting on the celluloid. Apt dialogues by Swanand Kirkire create good impact in many situations. Interiors of the palace (art by Nitin Desai) give the real rajput look to the movie.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra does his job very well – getting the best out of the huge star cast and managing the the script tightly by restricting the movie to max two hours and telling everything in style and grace. Some sequences are really executed and captured well.

The ghungroo sequence -- a blindfolded Bachchan separating the ghungroo from the pigeon -awe-inspiring
Minutes before the interval where Boman Irani is killed wherein there is the vast desert, a train running through it, the vintage car, the camels running helter-skelter, the sand, the sun, the old ruins – truly electrifying
Jimmy Shergill’s death and aftermath, Jackie getting thrown towards a speeding train – hair raising

Negatives – yes it has! The lengthy dialogue sequences shot with low voice and no dubbing makes us not understand some parts. Vidya Balan forgiving Saif’s sin in a short time is a bit unconvincing. The pace of the story takes a beating during the start of second half but picks up once we get to know about Saif’s disclosure.

Mostly this movie will be liked by the classes rather than the masses since it hasn’t got the masala elements which the masses like.

Arrasu - The Mass(ive) Entertainer

2007-01-29T21:28:00.001+05:30

Much has already been told about the storyline of ARRASU(double R!! yeah :-o numerology may be ) already in the posts so wouldnt like to touch upon that again. Would like to put forward my views about the movie here.

The movie has got a very thin storyline and hence fully banks upon the performances of Puneeth which he carries on well with his good acting. He truly is a the power star as he is called. He gives powerful performances in emotions, comedy, dance and action. Espicially the action sequences have been so effective show his stuntmanship. Good work Puneeth. Expressing emotions with the right facial expressions and body language I think he has learnt a lot from his father. He does it well. He typically reminded me of Annavru when he starts a dialogue with By the By. He still can do a better job in speaking pure kannada well. Totally this is a tailor made movie to show off his talent in all respects.

About the heroines, its Meera who catches our mind the most better than Ramya. Meera is bubbly and lively throughout the movie and hence she appealed to me the most throughout the movie. Rather strange that Ramya has done a subtle role in this. Shes known for her lively roles but we dont get to watch her in that avataar here. What we get to see her is as a responsible and thoughtful girl. But its completely Puneeth's movie where he comes way ahead than his arasis.

Despite his little role, veteran Srinivas Murthy impresses as Ramya's father and Arasu's Manager. We truly get a nice dose of laugther whenever we see Komal Kumar on the screen whose sense of humour and timing seems to improve with every movie he does. Aadi Lokesh in a bit role as villian is okay.

The songs of the movie are not that catchy and have tamilish touch. Joshua Sridhar tries to recreate kismat se tum humko mile ho from Rahman created Pukar. Baaro Baaro sung by Puneeth is good. Rest are just ok.

Action sequences are well executed and stunts are good. Songs have been picturized by Ramesh Babu too well at various exotic locales abroad.

The film actually has got a thin story line and some scenes in the second half tend to be repetitive ... may be to create a helplessness or confused state of mind for Arasu(and viewer ofcourse) Thats where the screenplay could have been more tighter. Actually I got the feeling that why same things are being shown again and again and wat are they trying to prove. But these things are overcome with a surprising climax. Thats where Mahesh Babu, the director has scored well.

Totally I feel its a masala family entertainer with lots of power from the power star.

Jugaari Cross @ Rangashankara

2007-01-28T22:37:00.001+05:30

[21^st January 2007 at 3.30 pm]

“Jugaari Cross”, a highly acclaimed novel written by K P Poornachandra Tejaswi has been adapted to stage by Samudaya Group and is directed by Nataraj Honnavalli. Since I haven’t read the novel, so can’t say much about the same but after having seen the play, I feel it must be a great novel with lots of political overtones putting forward the present status of society where there is always one person controlling the other who is depicted as “boss”.

The whole set of events take place in a span of twenty four hours at a place called Devapura where there is a crossing of four roads named “Jugaari Cross”. Once we start getting into the play we get a feeling that the characters, the turn of events, situations etc., are not at all linked to each other and raises a question in our mind that there is a big “boss” who is controlling all these. What is that person doing and why is he doing that is what we start thinking about. But lateron in the play we get to know how the events and characters are linked to each other. What starts off as a question in our mind culminates in a quest for some ancient hidden truths which get answered at the end of the play.

Jugaari Cross as mentioned is a place where people from different walks of life commute with different goals/aims – travelers, cardamom traders, farmers etc. At the cross, it is shown that the forester there is corrupt and extorts money from innocent farmers and traders who pass by that place. The cross is also shown to be a place where lots of underworld activities like smuggling of opium, ganja etc., take place. The main story is told from the point of view of a couple Suresh and Gowri who set out to sell their cardamom at a nearby town called Devapura. Suresh an ex-communist is shown to be a person who is influenced a lot by his guru Ganguli whereas Gowri is a simple girl who wants to be rich by selling off the cardamom at the highest price possible. On their way, in the bus two people from the underworld place a box in their sack of cardamom to protect it from the eyes of police. What is inside the box becomes the centre of attraction from this point.

At Devapura they get to know that the weight of the sack is increased by 2.5 kgs and are surprised at this. By this time the people who had placed the box in their sack get to know that it is missing and go in search of the couple. Huchche Gowda, a cardamom merchant at Devapura puts the cardamom they bring for auction and two mysterious people bid at a very high price and pay them through cheque. Since the couple require cash, they go to a commission agent Sethu, who pays them cash after checking out the cheque they bring in and also warns them to be careful. He reveals to them that the person who has signed the cheque is related to the underworld and two people previously have vanished after receiving similar cheques from him. He also tells them about a precious “red stone” which is got near Doni Hole near Devapura. After getting to know about this, the couple get more curious about why they were paid so much for the cardamom and also want to know if the “red stone” story is a reality. The rest of the story is their saga in getting to know the truth behind these and how the different characters they encountered during the day take them towards the truth.

Being a metaphorical story, it is quite interesting to know where the couple head towards and the revelations they face make us think of our present society where there is a “boss” above everyone of us to control us and makes us dance to his tunes. A lot of thought is required to get into the real idea behind the story which might be fully clear if we read the novel.

Coming to the play, it is a great work by Samudaya to bring such a complex novel (can guess it by the plot!!) on to the stage. Their effort is highly commendable. Good props and sets by Keshava Murthy are an added advantage to give the feel of the Jugaari Cross. Good lighting by Muddanna Rattihalli and Shashidhar Bhaarighaat to give the special effects of a railway tunnel and the smoke to give the misty feeling make the play a treat to watch. The title song which the actors themselves sing on the stage is good to hear and catchy. The play gets a good feeling by the good music of Gajanana T Naik. (Heard that the music for the play was composed in just a day!!!) Good makeup and costumes add to the feel of the play. Some comic moments in between provide a good relief for the viewers who get too involved to know what will happen next in the two hour long play!

It is a great work by the director Nataraja Honnavalli to take up the challenge of adapting the novel to stage. He gets the best out of every performer in the play.

What I remember the most from the play are some characters like Gowri, Shastri, Ganguli, Suresh and Sethu played with good perfection. Also the title song in chorus from the troupe is captivating and hummable.

With each enact, the plays improve and move towards perfection. Also not being the right person to judge the act and actors, what I can say is it’s a good effort by “Samudaaya” and I appreciate their efforts and wish them all the best for their future presentations of ‘Jugaari Cross’ and forthcoming ‘Pampa Bharatha’.

[I wish to mention three artists who made good impression in their act. Padma Shivamogga who played Gowri, Vishwa Rao who played Ganguli (also Huchche Gowda) and Sriharsha Nadahally who played Shastri. (Vishwa being my colleague and Harsha my new acquaintance)]

Mungaaru Male - Freshness Galore

2007-01-25T19:10:00.000+05:30

Often some love story based movies are branded as "Old Wine in New Bottle" and most of the times they are discarded as duds. But here is a movie which tells about love and sacrifice(same old stuff !! ) but with a breath-taking effect. Its got all the elements a family entertainer should have - romance, songs, sentiments..... (the list never ends probably for me).

As I told, its about love and sacrifice. "Preeti Madhura Tyaga Amara"(Love is pleasant but sacrifice is eternal). All through the movie we see nothing but love and only at the end we see sacrifice and that too for a truly valid reason.

The story is very simple. Preetam (Ganesh) is a easy going guy who happens to get his eyes on Nandini(Sanjana Gandhi) in a mall and falls in love with her at the first sight. Why only in love, he falls into a manhole also :) Being a careless son of a rich father(Jaijagadish), he is very much attached to his mother(Sudha Belavadi).

Preetam and his mother set off to Madikeri to visit her mother's friend(Padmaja Rao) and her ex-military man Major Subbaiah(Anantnag). On the way he tells his mother about that girl and his love towards her despite not meeting her. After reaching their destination he finds out that Nandini is his mother's friend's daughter and is heartbroken after getting to know that they are there to attend her wedding seven days from then. Nandini is getting married to a guy who saved her father's life in the battlefield. So they are very excited to get her married to him. After knowing this, Preetam wishes to leave the place suppressing his
feelings but Nandini provokes him and he comes back to woo her and get married to her even at the cost of running away from home with her. And this he does with style. He makes his way into her heart with his love and care towards her. She too reciprocates and they decide to marry each other. At this stage, the story takes a turn wherein some beans are spilt and Preetam will have to sacrifice his love. What we see next is his mental turmoil and pain in facing this and getting over. Will he sacrifice? Or will their romance become eternal? Catch the movie if you want to know !!!

The real hero of the movie is the "mungaaru male"(monsoon rain) wherein all major events and twists take place. Preetam seeing Nandini for the first time at a mall, next on his way to Madikeri, he confessing his love towards her, he breaking down at his helplessness about not being able to get her, Nandini expressing his love towards him, Preetam breaking her heart to get away from her and finally he himself breaking
down after she gets married... all these major events happen in the rain. Most of these are natural and very less artificial. Thats what is good about the movie. Everything is natural. Maybe its used as a symbol to give a feeling that rain brings in new life, clears the mind and cleans up the heart.

Next comes in the hero Ganesh who has done a tremendous job in expressing all kinds of emotions with great sincierity. For almost 12 reels he makes us laugh and finally he makes us feel so sad for him. With a powerful author backed role he emotes well to show both his mirth and pain. [I was initially reluctant to watch this movie because of his comedy time show but now I am damn sure that this guy would give other heroes
here a tough competition with his powerful acting skills and perfect timing sense for delivering the dialogues. All the best Ganesh!]

Cameraman Krishna does a great job in getting some breath taking views of Jog Falls from different angles. The best shotsa re the ones in which Preetam and Nandini are at the tip of the Jog Falls where she confesses her love towards him and the scene is shot with superb details of the falls with the camera being at almost right above their head. Mostly this is the only film wherein Jog has looked so beautiful. [Wish I could have got more details on how these scenes were shot. Got info that cranes for the cameras were specially got from Mumbai... dont know if thats true] Also
beautifully captured are the estates of Sakleshpur and views of Madikeri. All these scenic beauty captured in rain adds on the feel of the movie that is 'freshness'.

The dialogue writer and director Yograj Bhatt deserves a huge round of applause for handling the old story in a different way and presenting it with a fresh look. That is what is expected from any director. Creativity rules and wins and Yograj has proved that. The dialogues are very catchy and hit the right cord at the right time. They are very funny at times presented with the right punch by Ganesh and at other times its really touching. There are two scenes where the dilogues, director, actor and cameraman deliver their best together. First one is when Preetam is drunk and confesses his love towards Nandini and breaks down saying he just cant forget her and will keep on loving her despite her marriage to someone else. The next one is where Preetam is leaving Nandini's house just before her wedding where he talks about his state of mind and his love to his pet-a rabbit which he names as Devadas(symbolizing sacrifice). These are the two scenes which made a huge impact on me and these two scenes showed the real results of good team work.

Mungaru Male review would not be complete without mention of the music by Mano Murthy who captures the rainy feeling in the music with ultimate grace. The title song sung by Sonu Nigam penned by Yograj Bhatt himself is really great. Next comes the Kunidu Kunidu Baare sung by Udit Narayan, Sunidhi Chauhan, and Stephen. Anisuthide sung by Sonu Nigam and Araluthiru sung by Shreya Ghoshal are like love poems suiting the characters and fitting in at the right time in the movie. These three are penned by the well known writer Jayant Kaykini who has given poetic justice to these three songs. Onde Ondu Sari is a good fast paced number sung by Kunal Ganjawala and Priya Himesh. Suvvi Suvvali is just ok not that catchy like others. For the last two songs mentioned, lyrics are by Shiva. Mano Murthy puts his full efforts into making these songs memorable and hummbable for a long time to go.

Other performances which are good are by AnantNag, Padmaja Rao and SudhaBelavadi. Sanjana is good in her scenes and looks but is completely overshadowed by Ganesh! Some other parallel tracks in the movie which are worth mentioning are about the rabbit Devadas and about the Gautam(Digant) who is the groom in waiting to marry Nandini.

Finally, we come out of the theatre with fresh thoughts about love and sacrifice from the point of view of a normal lover and Preetam. We also remember the breathtaking visuals of Jog, Madikeri, Sakleshpura and each of these in mungaru male.... with all the freshness needed. Thats why I called it "Mungaaru Male - Freshness Galore"

Guru - A Masterpiece

2007-01-17T21:19:00.000+05:30

Guru - A Masterpiece

Meet India's most powerful man, scream the headlines........

"If you don't dream you will be stuck to your village all your life."
"There is a saying in our village - if people say bad things about you, you must be doing something good."
"I don't want to walk.... I want to run." [Turkey 1951]
"If a law can be made in a day, it can be changed in a day."
"I only know one thing..... there is only one person like me here... only one Guru."
"I don't fear the public. I am the public"

These are the words of Gurukant Desai(Abhishek Bachchan) in various stages of his life. Guru, a simple guy from Idhar village in Gujarat always dreams big things in life. His father(Rajendra Gupta) doesnt agree with him saying that dreams never come true. But as Guru grows up even his dreams also grow big. And he sets off to Turkey to earn money. There with his friend (Manoj Joshi) he distributes petrol cans to earn his livelihood. There too his dreams cant hold him back and he returns back to India after rejecting an offer to work for a rich man saying that he wants to be rich and not work for someone. Back home, he gets married to a village girl Sujata(Aishwarya Rai) after he gets to know from her brother, Jignesh(Arya Babbar) that her father(Sachin Khedekar) has saved lots of money for her dowry. Guru plans to use this money for starting a business of his own at Bombay.

So in pursuit of making in big in business he comes to Bombay with Sujata and Jignesh. In Mumbai, truth dawns upon Guru that the business world is a closed community ruled by a handful of rich and influential people who don't believe in giving opportunities to new players. Despite barriers, he starts a company called Shakti Trading and climbs the ladder of success at a furious pace.

Manik Dasgupta aka Nanaji [Mithun Chakraborty], who publishes a newspaper Swatantra, treats Guru as his son. But when he learns that Guru's means to make it big are not right, he along with the Editor of his newspaper, Shyam [Madhavan], decide to expose Guru's unjust ways. The rest is the story where Nanaji and Guru confront over ideals and ethics and it culminates with the very catchy reposition of Guru before an enquiry commission set up to probe into irregularities in Guru's business and his growth as the biggest businessman in India.

Touted as a bio-pic based on Reliance's Dheerubhai Ambani's life, the movie is very grasping and has been handled very well by the master of story telling - Mani Ratnam. Irrespective of how his films are received by the paying public, no one can deny the fact that a Mani Ratnam film is special! Special in many ways!!!! This time Mani, the supremely talented storyteller narrates the story of a man who rises from nothing and becomes the premier industrialist of the country through sheer hard work, determination, passion and grit. GURU is tremendously inspiring and makes anyone feel all the more confident to encounter challenges and hurdles that may crop up in a journey called life. This movie will add to his credentials as a superb film maker who has given us the great visual delights like Roja, Bombay, Dil Se..., Yuva, Alaipayuthey, Kannattil Muthamittal, Geetanjali ! Every sequence in GURU bears the stamp of a genius and the outcome is tremendous!!!

Coming to performances, its truly Abhishek's movie and he would surely win all the awards this time for his tremendous performance as the main protogonist! He makes us laugh, he makes us cry and we relieve all the emotions that he experiences. The role demands him to portray a guy in his teenage to his old age and Abhishek does it too much to perfection. The makeup and body language to suit various stages in his life are the main highlights. This movie truly would be a giant leap for this talented actor.
Aishwarya too gives a superb performance and impresses everyone with her acting. The chemistry between Abhishek and Aishwarya is too good to watch! We feel very much for her when she takes up the role of her husband's voice when he is half-paralyzed and cannot speak.
The other performance which draws our attention is by our own Mithun-da who delivers a natural performance all through. This just reminded me of the real Mithun after a long time since Agneepath and Prem Pratigyaa which were his best serious performances till date.Madhavan is just there but is as charming and refreshing when he confronts Guru. Vidya Balan as Nanaji's disabled daughter and later Madhavan's wife is just there doing nothing much. Arya Babbar is wasted in a bit role. Mallika Sherawat just dances to the tunes of "Maiyya Maiyya" when Guru is in Turkey. The other commendable performances are by Manoj Joshi, Roshan Seth (as chief of investgating commission) and Sachin Khedekar.

Music has always been a intimate part of Maniratnam's movies and as usual A R Rahman holds the show here. " Maiyya Maiyya" and "Barso re Barso" are too good to hear and watch. "Tere Bina" is a duet which is very melodious. "Ek Lo Ek Muft" is a funny song sung by Bappi Lahiri which Guru sings celbrating the birth of his twin daughters. The background score by Rahman is topnotch.

Rajiv Menon's cinematography is truly of international quality where he captures everything from the 1950s look till present day. The scenic beauty of Hampi and Badami are a treat to watch on the big screen. The last five minutes of the movie where Menon uses different camera speeds to give a superb effect to the scene where Guru gives his statment in front of the enquiry commission. Vijay Krishna Acharya's dialogues are too good. The writing in the last twenty minutes of the movie is fantastic.

There are a few loose ends in the movie though as in Guru's confrontation with Jignesh is not very well explained and also the romance between Madhavan and Vidya is somewhat out of track. (their smooch is very aesthetically filmed ...:) )

On the whole, GURU is one of the finest films to come out of the Hindi film industry. Three Cheers to Mani for giving us such a movie. It has already got good opening everywhere and the recent Abhi-Aish engagement will surely add to its success.

Rajeev - The review

2007-01-14T13:14:00.001+05:30

Ee Rajeev Gandhi Alla

Seeing the promos I was very excited about watching an out and out action movie in Kannada and that too with police touch. The promos are good no doubt. Except for the action and a superb performance as the action hero by Vijay Raghavendra, nothing seems to be good in the movie. This is what I felt after watching the movie.

The movie has good stars two good stars Vijay Raghavendra and Rakshita. The movie seems to bank only on the action oriented performance of Vijay who carries on the job well. The movie tells the story of bravery of 5 police officers of crime branch of Bangalore city and also about their crusade against rowdies, underworld, press and politicians.

The movie starts off well with good narration about the five police officers Rajeev Rai(Vijay Raghavendra), Shravya (Rakshita), Vivek, Musa and Bhiku who are working in Crime Branch Bangalore and their only motto is to free Bangalore from crime and their methods are very very bloody. Their main motto is pumping bullets into body of underworld people and rowdies. In the due course they confront with Dubai based underworld leader names Samson(Shobharaj) and his brother Bachchan. With their act, they become heroes in people's view but they face the ire of the lady Human Rights Commissioner. Their only support is their senior officer who would be shielding them. But once they come in the view of Human Rights Commissioner, he is forced to transfer them to normal police jobs. Here also they perform their duties with full sincerity and try to highlight the problems faced by Police Officers and Constables during their course of duty and bring these to the notice of their seniors. While they are busy with their normal police duties, the underworld activities of extortion etc., increase in Bangalore with Bachchan coming to Bangalore and creating terror. Even the Human Rights Commissioner's child is kidnapped for ransom and is killed and that's when she realizes their necessity in Crime Branch and they get back the job which they are good at! They continue their job of hunting down the underworld people and end up killing Bachchan after he kills Musa. That's when Samson is enraged and comes to Bangalore vowing to kill all of them. He hatches a plan to replace their supporter-the commissioner with his man. Also he plans to break their friendship and damage their career. Will he succeed in his intentions and how does Rajeev and his friends face this? Will they succumb to his plots or fight back is the main story.

With this there are sentimental moments wherein the relationship of Rajeev and his sister (Pavitra Lokesh) is brought about very well. Also, the love between Shravya and Rajeev is given some highlight. But what catches in the movie are its hard hitting dialogues which target towards the Press, Politicians and the Public. Two scenes are very catchy. One wherein the five officers confront the police saying they are doing wrong in accepting bribe quoting their low salary as reason and second is one wherein they confront their new commissioner calls their deceased friend is a mess and they should clean up the mess. Also finally there is a message by Ravi Belegere who puts question to the public about their role in making this society a better place to live by supporting the police by treating them as humans.

Speaking about the technicalities of the movie, the screenplay has a very fast pace which takes a beat with the two unnecessary songs. But I do agree that the songs are required to give a relief to the people from the blood bath all through the movie. One song is an item number which was quite unnecessary. The other one is a duet which I felt was quite out of frame. The music and background score by Sadhu Kokila are just ok and at times too loud to suit the action. Good camerawork to suit the action sequences is mindblowing. But I wonder if it was really required to use so much green filters while filming. The dialogues by Rajashekar and Ramesh are very hard hitting and sometimes very vulgar to invite lots and lots of beeps all through the movie. The dialogues where they speak about the status and real lives of police inspectors and constables, confrontantion with politicians explaining situation of police and their confrontation with their new commissioner after their friend's death are really good.

The direction by Ravi Srivatsa is good and he handles the narration very well. But finally what I wonder about is his intention behind the movie - whether to glorify police or to give a message that nothing can change here in this society and also that honesty in a policeman is bound to ruin him. Finally I came out of the theatre with a question myself that what the director was trying to prove.

Coming to performances, its clearly Vijay Raghavendra who steals the show with his action. He emotes well in his scenes with Rakshita and his sister. Rakshita does a good job as a police officer. Good to see her in such a serious role. But one thing which I noticed was she just disappears in action sequences while the other four are bashing the goons. Quite natural!!! J Shobharaj as Samson is always on phone in the movie fails to impress as the villain. Other three officers – Vijay, Nagashekhar and Hareesh Rai are just there doing their part. Pavitra Lokesh surprises with her act as Rajeev's sister. She proves that she is talented and needs better roles.

Talking about box office, I personally feel this might not get the family audience which is very much required because of this bloody action and (at-times) vulgar dialogues. Also it might take a back seat because of the other releases Shivrajkumar – Rakshita's "Thayiya Madilu" which is a family tear jerker and also Abhishek-Aishwarya starrer "Guru" which has got a good opening.

I finally feel that Ravi Srivatsa should have taken steps towards making it more watchable with the family. Actually I found exactly two ladies in balcony in the theatre where I watched the movie. That's what might affect its box-office performance very much.

RANGABHOOMI gaagi SATYAAGRAHA

2007-01-03T15:02:00.000+05:30

ಪ್ರಿಯರೆ
ಜನವರಿ 5 2007 ಶುಕ್ರವಾರ ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಗೆ ಹತ್ತರಿಂದ ರವೀಂದ್ರ ಕಲಾ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದ ಆವರಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡದ ರಂಗಕರ್ಮಿಗಳು ಶ್ರೀ ಪ್ರಸನ್ನ ಅವರ ನೇತೃತ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ ಉಪವಾಸ ಸತ್ಯಾಗ್ರಹವನ್ನು ಆರಂಭಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಕವಿ G.S ಶಿವರುದ್ರಪ್ಪನವರು ರಂಗಕರ್ಮಿಗಳನ್ನು ಆಶೀರ್ವದಿಸಿ ಸತ್ಯಾಗ್ರಹಕ್ಕೆ ಚಾಲನೆ ನೀಡುವವರಿದ್ದಾರೆ

ಕಾರಣ:ರಂಗಭೂಮಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಮಾತೃಭಾಷೆಗಳದ್ದು ಜನುಮದ ಜೋಡಿ. ರಂಗಭೂಮಿ, ಮಾತೃಭಾಷೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಪ್ರಾಥಮಿಕ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಒಂದಕ್ಕೊಂದು ಪೂರಕವಾಗಿ ನಿಂತಾಗ ಮಾತ್ರ ನಮ್ಮ ಸಮಾಜವು ಆರೋಗ್ಯಕರವಾಗಿ ಬೆಳೆಯಬಲ್ಲದು. ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದ ಬೆಂಬಲವಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಮಾತೃಭಾಷಾ ರಂಗ ಚಳುವಳಿಗಳು ಬದುಕಲಾರವು. ರಂಗಕರ್ಮಿಗಳು ಟೆಲಿವಿಷನ್ ಹಾಗು ಸಿನಿಮಾದತ್ತ ಗುಳೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿರುವುದನ್ನು ತಡೆಯಬೇಕಾದರೆ ಅವರಿಗೆ ರಂಗಭೂಮಿಯಲ್ಲೇ ಉದ್ಯೋಗ ದೊರಕಬೇಕು. ಅಂತಹ ಉದ್ಯೋಗ ಲಭ್ಯವಿರುವುದು ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ರಂಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತ್ರ. ಇತ್ತಕಡೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ರಂಗದಲ್ಲಿ ರಂಗಭೂಮಿಯ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಳ್ಳುವಿಕೆ ಇಲ್ಲದೆ ಶಾಲೆಯೆಂಬುದು ಮಗುವಿನ ಮನಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಅರಳಿಸಲಾರದು. ಯೋಚಿಸಿ! ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮಗುವು

1 ಮೂರೂ ಹೊತ್ತು ಟೆಲಿವಿಷನ್ ಪರದೆಯನ್ನು ನೋಡುತ್ತಾ ಕುಳಿತಿರಬೇಕೆ?
2. ಚಾಕು ಚೂರಿ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ , ಅಶ್ಲೀಲ ನೃತ್ಯಗಳು ಹಾಗು ಪೋಲಿ ಹಾಡುಗಳನ್ನು ಕಲಿಯಬೇಕೆ?
3.ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮಗು ತನ್ನ ಮಾತೃಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು ಮರೆಯಬೇಕೆ ?

ಬೇಡ ಎನ್ನುವುದಾದರೆ ನಮ್ಮೊಡನೆ ಬನ್ನಿ, ನಮ್ಮ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಯನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಬಲ್ಲ ಎರಡು ಸಣ್ಣ ಬೇಡಿಕೆಗಳ ಪರವಾಗಿ ಧ್ವನಿ ಎತ್ತಿ

ಬೇಡಿಕೆಗಳು
1. ಭಾರತದ ಎಲ್ಲ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಭಾಷೆಗಳ ರಂಗಭೂಮಿಯನ್ನು ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ರಂಗಭೂಮಿ ಎಂದು ಮಾನ್ಯತೆ ಮಾಡಿ
2.ಭಾರತದ ಎಲ್ಲ ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ಶಾಲೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದಲ್ಲಿ ರಂಗಭೂಮಿ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಜಾರಿಗೆ ತನ್ನಿ

Kallarali Hoovagi - The Review

2007-01-03T14:58:00.000+05:30

The latest offering by T S Nagabharana "Kallarali Hoovagi" starring Vijay Raghavendra, Umashankari, Anantnag, Bharathi, Ambareesh, Avinash etc., is truly a visual treat to watch.
The movie based on a novel of the same name by B L Venu is a fictitious love story set in Chitradurga during the reign of Madakari Nayaka. The novel itself is truly enchanting to read but T S Nagabharana has put full life into into it in the movie.

The story is about the love between a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl and their sacrifice for Chitradurga. The author has handled such a meticulous topic so well that there is no scope for so called fundamentalists to create a furore etc., Jayadeva(Vijay Raghavendra) is a postman and a talented youth of Chitradurga. One night he rescues an injured girl Noor Jahan (Umashankari) from the battle field who is shocked after her parents were killed by Madakari Nayaka's (Ambareesh) soldiers. She actually is the daughter of Hyder Ali's (Devraj) main sentinel. Jayadeva brings Noor to his house where his doctor-father, Basayya (Anant Nag) treats her despite Basayya's wife's (Bharathi) initial resentment to keep a muslim girl in their house.
The family has to protect Noor Jahan's identity since she is from the rival king's land. So they rename her as Ratna and she becomes a part of their house. As time flows, Jayadeva falls in love with her and he rejects the offer of marrying his uncle's (Mukhyamantri Chandru) daughter. Madakari Nayaka comes to know of this love between the Jaya and Rathna and approves their love and also makes Jaya one among his trusted men. Jaya too helps the king and kingdom by capturing Hyder Ali's spies with his valor and tact. Towards the climax, he himself acts as a spy of his king in Hyder Ali's army who gather around Chitradurga fort to capture it. He succeeds in defeating them with his clever plans. Finally what would happen to the lovers? Will he able to save chitradurga from Hyder Ali? The Climax becomes a sentimental part of the movie.
\n \nVijaya Raghavendra has given the best performance of his lifetime with his nice looks, acting, dancing, fights and espicially the right body language at the right time. Umashankari is good as Noor and looks pretty. (but personally I feel she isnt the right pair for Vijay because she looks a bit oversized compared to him :) ) Anant Nag and Bharathi perform well as they have done before. Ambareesh as Madakari Nayaka impresses in some scenes. Avinash as one of Nayaka's trusted men does his usual best. Mukhyamantri Chandru is loud as Jaya's uncle and Sumalatha as Nayaka's wife hardly speaks in the movie. Also seen in the movie is the thespian M P Shankar as one more trusted men of Nayaka. This definitely is Vijay Raghavendra's movie and will be a showcase of his acting prowess and his display of various emotions and also valor. No doubt he will be compared with Annavru in doing justice to historical themes. \n\n \nAnd very much the movie will also be compared with the other historical release of the year "Gandugali Kumararama". T S Nagabharana wins at his narration by getting out the best of everything from all his actors. Be it expressing the love in terms of "sampige" flower or depicting valor in the eyes of the actors, Nagabharana scores as the best. The film also has its light moments when Bharathi dreams about her household turning into a muslim household. This evokes lots of laughter and its not overboard. The sets are lavish - thanks to producer Madhu Bangarappa, the producer who has put in lot of money in making of the movie. The historic sets in the rampants of Chitradurga are very convincing and realistic to suit the Durga of those times. Nagini Bharana wins in the costume design category. The two other heros of the movie other than Vijay Raghavendra deserve a huge applaud. Firstly, the music and background score by Hamsalekha which are too much in tune with the time and mood of the movie. The songs are very situational and captivating which are very suitably put at the correct situations. The title song and biriyani song are a treat to watch and hear. Secondly, the photographer of the movie, H C Venu takes the viewers to the visual delight of the fort and ramparts of Chitradurga.

Vijaya Raghavendra has given the best performance of his lifetime with his nice looks, acting, dancing, fights and espicially the right body language at the right time. Umashankari is good as Noor and looks pretty. (but personally I feel she isnt the right pair for Vijay because she looks a bit oversized compared to him :) ) Anant Nag and Bharathi perform well as they have done before. Ambareesh as Madakari Nayaka impresses in some scenes. Avinash as one of Nayaka's trusted men does his usual best. Mukhyamantri Chandru is loud as Jaya's uncle and Sumalatha as Nayaka's wife hardly speaks in the movie. Also seen in the movie is the thespian M P Shankar as one more trusted men of Nayaka. This definitely is Vijay Raghavendra's movie and will be a showcase of his acting prowess and his display of various emotions and also valor. No doubt he will be compared with Annavru in doing justice to historical themes.

And very much the movie will also be compared with the other historical release of the year "Gandugali Kumararama". T S Nagabharana wins at his narration by getting out the best of everything from all his actors. Be it expressing the love in terms of "sampige" flower or depicting valor in the eyes of the actors, Nagabharana scores as the best. The film also has its light moments when Bharathi dreams about her household turning into a muslim household. This evokes lots of laughter and its not overboard. The sets are lavish - thanks to producer Madhu Bangarappa, the producer who has put in lot of money in making of the movie. The historic sets in the ramparts of Chitradurga are very convincing and realistic to suit the Durga of those times. Nagini Bharana wins in the costume design category. The two other heros of the movie other than Vijay Raghavendra deserve a huge applaud. Firstly, the music and background score by Hamsalekha which are too much in tune with the time and mood of the movie. The songs are very situational and captivating which are very suitably put at the correct situations. The title song and biriyani song are a treat to watch and hear. Secondly, the photographer of the movie, H C Venu takes the viewers to the visual delight of the fort and ramparts of Chitradurga.
\n \nTotally its a very good movie and might turn out to be the return of historical movies to the Kannada screen. Great work by T S Nagabharana and Hamsalekha who enlighten the movie with this skill and expertise.

Totally its a good movie and might turn out to be the return of historical movies to the Kannada screen. Great work by T S Nagabharana and Hamsalekha who enlighten the movie with their skill and expertise.

Shraddha @ Rangashankara

2007-01-03T14:55:00.000+05:30

This play by the new troupe "Panchamukhi Natara Samuha" (staged at rangashankara on 17th October) deals with the feelings of devotion of four children who realize their father's love towards them late in life. This tells the story of a family where the father is initially described as a strict person who doesnt care much about showing love to his children. The children describe his various characters in their own way satirically. Towards the middle of the story, the children and the father start realizing their real feelings of affection and caretowards each other, but they dont express the same to each other. When the time comes for the children to leave for a far off town to earn a livelihood, they realize the real value of their father and his care towards them. On the other side, their father too is grieved by the fact that his children will be away from him and forces him to see them off at the railway station. Thats when his real emotions for his children are poured out in public. He embraces them filled with tears. The children while on the train feel sorry for their thoughts that their father is uncaring towards them after seeing his eyes filled with tears. All these they remember years later when they gather together for their father's 'Shraadhha'(the Hindu ritual of treating people to feasts in the name of the deceased). The play ends on a note that the real "Shraadhha" is performed when the beloved people remember the deceased with "Shraddha"(Faith) and not just by performing the rituals.The one hour play directed by Vinayak Joshi was a nice one to watch with some hilarious moments in the first half and some touching moments in the second. In the first half the four children express their anguish about their father being too uncaring and strict with lots of instances to prove that. These acts were brought out very nicely by the troupe with lots of anecdotes and comparisons with real-life situations. When the audience is still reeling under the light moments, the actual story wherein the real concern and care of their father towards them is brought in front of them in a unique way musically. Espicially in the last act where the setting is in a railway station where the father comes to see off his children, Vinayak Joshi featured well in emoting as the father. The music by Praveen was a splendid experience to listen! Hats off to him! Coming to the dialect used in the play, they have tried to put in North Karnataka dialect but at times they seem to forget this fact and talk in normal dialect, can talk about this as inconsistency which the troupe should concentrate upon. Thats the only negative thing I found in the play.
The play was executed technically well with the basic Set Design, good Sound Design and very good Lighting Design. I felt the lights spoke for themselves with the actor's mood.Keep up the good work "Panchamukhi Natara Samuha". My best wishes with you!!!
Rangashankara was the best place to watch the play. One of the speciality is that they dont have a microphone or a speaker to enhance the voice. Dialogues and music reach your ears as it is which gives u a very pleasant experience. The seating arrangement is also very good and at the same time comfortable for typical one hour play. The discipline that is followed inside the theatre is wonderful. Overall, it was a different experience