It was musical chairs for the slot of superstar till recently in Kannada cinema. That was before the release of KGF when underdog Yash usurped the throne from right under the noses of the main contenders, Puneet, Darshan and Sudeep. Just yesterday a renowned cinematographer called and raved about the gumption and audacity of Prashanth Neel and Yash for dreaming big and pulling it off. ‘KGF’ is now a template for others to try and match. Today, every star wants stories that will cater to pan Indian audiences. Sudeep’s ‘Pailwan’ will be released in multiple languages with a sprinkling of recognisable faces from other languages. There’s always been a silent struggle for the vacuum left by Raj Kumar and Vishnuvardhan. The contenders were only as good as their last release and the bigger star was determined by their price tag which again depended on the telecast rights their starrer fetched. None had the self belief to share the financial burden with the producer even when offered an equal share in the profits. Superstars are a strange breed. They live in a world insulated by a claque which constantly massages their giant egos. Roles are written keeping the legion of fans who apparently applaud the most insipid of deeds in mind. Film titles have to be adulatory, in the range of ‘Rajakumara’, ‘Samrat’, ‘Natasarvabhouma’ and now, ‘Yajamana’. All these films have plots that are painfully predictable, insult the basic intelligence of the paying public and are caught in a time warp.
It’s two years since ‘Samrat’ was released and Darshan’s fans were getting restless if reports are to be believed. The ambitious ‘Kurukshetra’ getting delayed didn’t help. Meanwhile, Pon Kumaran known as P. Kumar in Kannada who wrote ‘Lingaa’ narrated a line to Darshan which seems to have excited him. Superstars choose producers who will pay them a fat packet and so with the help of music director Harikrishna who’s close to Darshan, it was decided that Shylaja Nag be appointed proud producer. The film rolled and midway news was leaked that Harikrishna was calling the shots on the sets. Everyone from the star to the producer was raving about Hari’s hidden talent for direction. P. Kumar was reduced to an onlooker. Anyway, the songs topped the charts and ‘Yajamana’ was released with conflicting reports. Fans welcomed the return of their ‘Boss’ after a hiatus.
The plot of ‘Yajamana’ is as old as the technology used in the film to extract oil. You have this village called ‘Huli Durga’ which seems to be caught in a time warp. Their main livelihood is selling unadulterated oil. There’s the village head who controls greed and maintains peace. Enter our hero who’s the village darling. He emerges from a herd of bulls and beats the daylights out of a pack of baddies built like boxers. Introduction fight done with it’s time for a paen. It’s now normal to see second rung stars appearing in a song to sing the virtues of the superstar. Here you have Prajwal, Chiranjeevi, ‘Lovely Star’ Prem and Sharan mouthing lyrics befitting the almighty. ‘He can stop an army and shatter rocks but his ‘mantra’ is peace,’ goes one line. ‘His smile makes the earth fertile. He’s one in a million and his name spells faith,’ goes another. Enter the heroine who he’s been stalking since childhood. As a kid he beats teachers who give her low marks and thrashes prospective suitors now. She preens. A TV reporter wearing shorts that she probably bought when she was a kid enters to add an element of jealousy. There has to be a strong antagonist and so there’s the oil magnate who poisons the minds of the innocent villagers. It’s a well-oiled machine that imagines what fans will like. Action, romance and so-called comedy are hurled at you in equal doses in no particular order. There is the whistle inducing lines like, “Don’t say Kannad. It’s Kannada.” Also, ‘When people ask for water we give them juice.’ The film seems to have put the editor to sleep because the most unnecessary, inconsequential and inane scenes are not cut. The makers suddenly realise that fans in the Hubli belt are very important. So Yograj Bhat is called to write an item number. ‘I’ve just emerged after a bath using Lux soap,’ sings the scantily clad lass.
Karnataka Bengaluru 18/11/2014 Associate Editor , Pon Kumaran during the Audio release of the Film Linga
You think it’s all over when the hero literally tells you there’s more. There’s the title song which sounds similar to the one in ‘Rajakumara’. The so-called emotional scenes leave you cold and unmoved, whether it’s the hero trying to sell a cart load of oil cans in Mumbai or the village headman on his deathbed. What is sorely missing is a cohesive plot and a structured narrative which is not too much to ask for and bare necessities for a crowd pleaser. None of the characters or key sequences is developed convincingly. Darshan doesn’t believe in straining his muscles, facial or the ones he’s lovingly built. When he’s not breaking bones he’s seen standing like a bouncer, mouthing lines in a monotone. Ravishankar has his moments though. Has the film worked? Reliable sources say the producer has made a fat pre-release packet. The fate of the distributors will be known in a few days. On the third morning, after the release that I watched the film there were five people in the multiplex besides me. The explanation will be that Darshan is a single screen star.
You have all the necessary ingredients but the chef just doesn’t know how to cook even an edible, leave alone a delicious dish. If I were Harikrishna, I’d have let P. Kumar take the credit for direction.
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