‘For Regn’ movie review: Milana Nagaraj, Pruthvi Ambaar are wasted in a shallow relationship drama

With a meandering script filled with jaded ideas, director Naveen Dwarakanath fails to do justice to his lead actors as he churns out a melodramatic and message-heavy film

Milana Nagaraj and Pruthvi Ambaar in ‘For Regn’. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Yet another Friday, yet another Kannada film failing to understand the pulse of its audience. In For Regn, director Naveen Dwarakanath squanders an interesting premise by beating around the bush for an eternity. Throughout the runtime of 140 minutes, he has no clue how to transform his central conflict into an engaging cinematic experience.

Milana Nagaraj and Pruthvi Ambaar are actors who have won the acceptance of the new-generation filmgoers. But the two talents are wasted in a jaded story. The director’s lack of confidence is apparent as Dwarakanath settles for the low-hanging fruit of a done-to-death template, which involves the ‘hero introduction’ song, a series of silly scenes that are supposed to be funny, an unimaginative way of showing the hero wooing a woman, a conflict that makes a mountain out of a molehill, and a climax that sermons us about relationships.

For Regn (Kannada)

Director: Naveen Dwarakanath

Cast: Milana Nagaraj, Pruthvi Ambaar, Ramesh Bhat, Sudha Belawadi, Tabla Nani

Runtime: 140 minutes

Storyline: A couple’s married life is disrupted by poor communication and the malicious intentions of family members. Will they come out of this mess?

The shallowness in writing is exposed by how the director handles two small yet interesting conflicts. Ashu (Pruthvi) and Anvi (Milana) are secretly married. One day, Ashu’s parents realise the truth, and you expect the film to surprise us. However, his parents are easily convinced, and so is Anvi’s mother, who is projected as a ‘strict’ person. But the parents aren’t satisfied with the couple just having registered their marriage (hence the title) and wish to see them married again in a lavish manner, in the presence of friends and family. The couple agrees, without a fuss. Where is the realistic drama?

The film misses an opportunity to delve into the mindset of a couple who believes in focusing more on their relationship than satisfying the long list of family members (from both sides). Regn also fails miserably in portraying the issues faced by a married couple. It is more interested in taking us towards (in an absolutely leisurely manner) a message we have been served by several family dramas in the past. What’s worse is that the message is delivered after the bombardment of melodrama. As someone quipped in the movie hall, the film carried the vibe of a TV serial.

The visual quality (Abhilash Kalathi and Abhishek G Kasaragod are the cinematographers), with pleasing colour tones and picturesque locales, isn’t enough to save the film. The impact of beautiful frames gets hit when a script lacks soul. 

For instance, see how Ashu’s character is written. He works in the marketing department of a company (ludicrously named Shaktimaan) that produces performance-enhancing drugs. Why did he land a job there? Why is he hardly shown working? How did the company gain popularity? The film has no answer to these questions. Anvi hails from a Mangaluru family, while Ashu is a Bengalurian. Why didn’t the director capture the drama involving the differences between the two cultural backgrounds?

Pruthvi is sincere in scenes that portray him as an honest husband, while Milana is natural in emotional sequences, and the actors do more for the film than what the film does for them. With a script that runs around in circles, the director is hardly aware of the audience’s time and investment.

For Regn is currently running in theatres.