Karnataka   

Examining relationships

A scene from ‘Preethi Yeke Bhoomimelide’

Film: Preethi Yeke Bhoomimelide

Director: Prem

Cast: Prem, Ramesh Bhat, Sharan, Rohini, Namrata and Archana

An unusually intense treatment of human relationships, particularly the one between a man and a woman, gives “Preethi Yeke Bhoomimelide”, an otherwise drab film, a certain gravity. As the title suggests, the film tries to examine the reasons for the existence of love in this world.

Though the film got attention before its release on account of the controversy surrounding the song “Sulle sullu”, the film really deserves attention as it is conceived and executed more on the lines of parallel cinema than a run-of-the-mill love triangle. It does so despite commercial compulsions.

Director Prem puts together a set of occurrences that represent opposite aspects of life: sane-morbid, serene-violent and virtuous-vulgar. He juxtaposes elements of nature such as earth, sky, sun, moon and water and uses folktales, nursery rhymes and adages about them to discuss beliefs about the man-woman relationship. He shifts the locales often from India to Egypt (focussing on the Sphinx and the imposing desert) and then to cities in the West. This reminds the audience of the narrative technique of traditional texts such as “Kathasarithsagara” and “Panchatantra”. The film argues that relationships are predetermined and there is no escape from them. Only the passage of time can reveal the design behind relationships.

Even as the audience wonders about the rationality of this argument, Prem boldly destroys it and presents a contrary view. This he does through a dialogue between faith and rationality, belief and experience and emotion and intellect.

Prem as Chandu, a young man waiting for the girl he is “destined” to love is convincing. Namrata is the appealing Sandhya, and Rohini as the flaming rationalist Indu stamps her presence. Seenu’s cinematography adds value to the script.

K.N. VENKATASUBBA RAO

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