There’s an alarming trend that seems to be pervading the Kannada film audiences. From nonchalance it’s turning to utter disdain. Sadly one is witnessing Kannada films being pushed to the sidelines, be it the number of theaters they’re released in, the amount of publicity they garner or the space and time they get on TV and in the print media. Looking for lame excuses has not helped because quality is the casualty. Forget anything exciting, films that can be communicated competently are not being made. The need of the hour is directors who’re trained. People, who haven’t produced anything notable, creatively start training institutes where crash courses are conducted in every aspect of cinema. Anybody remotely connected to cinema in Gandhinagar has a story which he thinks he can convert into a super-hit. I’ve had drivers working with directors suddenly handing me an invite to the ‘muhurtha’ of their directorial debut. Nothing wrong with that but does it ever turn into a lasting passion? Around Deepavali this year I casually asked directors, their assistants and errand boys at production houses which films they’d watched among the new releases. I consistently heard ‘Kaththi’, ‘Poojai’ and ‘Happy New Year’ in that order. None mentioned ‘Fair and Lovely’ or the other Kannada release the name of which I confess, I don’t remember. There’s not a semblance of curiosity, leave alone excitement at the imminent release of films that don’t boast marquee names. Not all is lost though. There’s the odd, amusing remake ‘Adhyaksha’ that filled the producers coffers as did the mediocre ‘Bahadhur’. I haven’t lost hope. We may never get another director with the passion of a Puttanna Kanagal but this nadir in quality I think and hope is temporary. Till then I think Rakshith Shetty has it in him to make a terrific film if he can match form with content. I’m sure Chaitanya is eager to prove that ‘Aa Dinagalu’ was not a flash in the pan. There’s Pawan Kumar who’s come up with a title for his next film that’s more complicated than the plot of ‘Lucia’. I like the supreme confidence that Pavan Wodeyar exudes. I await his ‘Rana Vikrama’ which he promises will be exciting. Till then the only film I’d recommend is the restored version of ‘Kasturi Nivasa’.
Last Friday a director asked me which film I’d watched. When I said ‘Belli’ he smirked and remarked that I must be crazy.There were just enough people to start a show in a multiplex on the first day, first show. I’ve wondered why the director of the film calls himself ‘Mussanje Mathu’ Mahesh. It was his debut effort but mediocre save the scenery and a couple of hummable songs. I mean Puttanna was not referred to as ‘Nagarahavu’ Puttanna.Shivrajkumar is an actor for hire. You probably just have to pay him his price and promise he’ll be wielding a ‘long’ (cross between a sickle and a sword) and he’ll sign on the dotted line. He doesn’t act in remakes but ‘Belli’ is a rehash of two of his biggest hits, ‘Om’ and ‘Jogi’ with neither the style or the emotions recaptured effectively. The censors also seem to have hacked the film with a ‘long’. You don’t envy the editor Deepu who’s had the arduous task of piecing together disjointed scenes. It’s an underworld film so the music director conveniently settles for the ‘Godfather’ score. The camera seems to have been fixed to a snake’s hood. It swerves and sways making you dizzy. An assistant director hailing from Sandur told me fans had sworn off Shivrajkumar films after watching ‘Andhar Bahar’. ‘Belli’ will not bring them back. ‘Thagudu’ would have been an apt title.
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