I do not favour night shows, but we had no choice. Two new movies, starring celebrated heroes of Sandalwood, had edged this one out of the limelight and the sunlight. As we walked to the cinema hall's entrance, some people could be heard grumbling in discontent. They were bemused that this movie was being screened instead of their favourite superstar's most recent mishit.
The film opens with a comic scenario in a prison gaurds' office. The officer, engrossed in a teleserial, teeters at the threshold, his attention demanded by both Sita entering a pyre and a death-row convict jumping over the wall. The rest of the movie is an escape with the felon - a highly-priced one, carrying a bounty of ten lakhs.
As fate should have it, the felon hitchhikes with a former executioner who is on his way to the central prison. The old man has been invited to train new recruits in eradicating culprits and thus maintaining law and order. Along the way, these two gentlemen meet an eloped couple, their families and caste-brethren pursuing them to avert a socially unacceptable wedding, and a heavily pregnant young wife of a jawan, being attended to by her old mother-in-law. In each of these encounters, both the old man and the felon find in themselves, and the other, shades that defy the stereotypes about their respective characters. While they continue along the dusty roads, their every action, emotion, and thought being scrutinized by a scorching sun, each experiences a dissipation of his determination. The old man is no longer sure if he should bring the felon to the prison. The felon is no longer sure if he should keep running. A divine intervention of sorts guides each to make the right decision as the movie draws to a close.
'Puppeteered' by D Satyprakash, the movie is a speculative sojourn, the waves of human nature guiding its course. A diet of quotidian details is used merely to achieve verisimilitude. The dialogues are crunchy and insightful, and sardonic or comical as necessary. The songs are essential and quirky, and help further the narrative. The characters are unobtrusively woven into the narrative and are so well developed as to distract from any acting flaws. In short, the movie is so close to perfection that you will leave the cinema hall thoroughly entertained. Yet, you will also wistfully wonder how long it will be before another Kannada movie satisfies you as much as 'Rama Rama Re'. One can only hope that the wistfulness will be eased not by a weak memory but more such scintillating narratives on film.
The film opens with a comic scenario in a prison gaurds' office. The officer, engrossed in a teleserial, teeters at the threshold, his attention demanded by both Sita entering a pyre and a death-row convict jumping over the wall. The rest of the movie is an escape with the felon - a highly-priced one, carrying a bounty of ten lakhs.
As fate should have it, the felon hitchhikes with a former executioner who is on his way to the central prison. The old man has been invited to train new recruits in eradicating culprits and thus maintaining law and order. Along the way, these two gentlemen meet an eloped couple, their families and caste-brethren pursuing them to avert a socially unacceptable wedding, and a heavily pregnant young wife of a jawan, being attended to by her old mother-in-law. In each of these encounters, both the old man and the felon find in themselves, and the other, shades that defy the stereotypes about their respective characters. While they continue along the dusty roads, their every action, emotion, and thought being scrutinized by a scorching sun, each experiences a dissipation of his determination. The old man is no longer sure if he should bring the felon to the prison. The felon is no longer sure if he should keep running. A divine intervention of sorts guides each to make the right decision as the movie draws to a close.
'Puppeteered' by D Satyprakash, the movie is a speculative sojourn, the waves of human nature guiding its course. A diet of quotidian details is used merely to achieve verisimilitude. The dialogues are crunchy and insightful, and sardonic or comical as necessary. The songs are essential and quirky, and help further the narrative. The characters are unobtrusively woven into the narrative and are so well developed as to distract from any acting flaws. In short, the movie is so close to perfection that you will leave the cinema hall thoroughly entertained. Yet, you will also wistfully wonder how long it will be before another Kannada movie satisfies you as much as 'Rama Rama Re'. One can only hope that the wistfulness will be eased not by a weak memory but more such scintillating narratives on film.
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