Game (Kannada)
Director: AMR Ramesh
Cast: Manisha Koirala, Shaam, Arjun Sarja, Aqsa Bhat, Seetha, AMR Ramesh
Kannada audience, who were impressed with Ramesh’s Cyanide, Police Quarters and Attahasa and expected a similar visual experience from his latest Game , are sure to be disappointed. But the film does provide what is expected from a murder mystery.
It had triggered curiosity from the day of its announcement for two reasons. Firstly, it was rumoured that the film is a remake of Spanish movie El Cuerpo by Oriol Paulo. Secondly, rumours suggested that this Tamil-Kannada bilingual move ( Oru Melliya Kodu in Tamil) is loosely based on the life of late Sunanda Pushkar, wife of former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor.
Like in the Spanish film Game also opens up with the disappearance of the body of Maya (Monisha Koirala) from the morgue, after a gruesome attack on the security personnel. Top cop Sharat (Arjun Sarja), investigating the case, arrests Akshay (Shaam), Maya’s husband. It is revealed that she had married Akshay, much younger to her, and made him nominee for a whopping insurance fund in case of her death.
While the film focuses on murder of a high profile woman, the other message that has been interspersed is to discourage drunken driving.
The film keeps the audience hooked, as Ramesh erects a huge forensic lab in which most of the action takes place. The strength of the film lies in making audience believe that every main character — Maya, Akshay, Bhoomika, Sharat — are up to their own game.
The slow paced narration, which is unusual for Kannada audience, uses sound and visuals to get the needed effect, with Ilayaraja’s music score succeeding in creating the mood. Ramesh uses songs to break the monotony, but fails to achieve the result, as they seem out of place.
Shaam as Akshay and Manisha as Maya will not disappoint the audience. Manisha has returned to the screen after a long hiatus through this film. Arjuna Sarja as investigative cop, who provides a twist for the story, keeps audience hooked to their seat till the end. He steals the show as investigative cop and loving father. Aqsa Bhat will not disappoint audience, who fits for the role of Bhoomika.
Muralidhara Khajane
