Bloodshed after love
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There are no excuses for Santa. It beats all earlier records of violence in Kannada cinema
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SICKLE CRAZY More time is spent in justifying violence than condemning it
It’s back to bloodshed. After getting pleasantly drenched in “Mungaru Maley” you get splashed with blood in films like “Masti” and “Santha”. “Duniya” was violent too but it was a cut above the run of the mill rowdyism flick. “Masti’ has bombed and “Santa” is the latest look into the dark underbelly of Bangalore. Shivraj Kumar lifts the ‘long’ after a long time and his underling in the
film proudly introduces him as the dude who taught the others how to hold the sickle referring to “Om”. There’s not a single scene which rises above the mundane and more time is spent in justifying the violence than condemning it. It’s the typical tale of a villager who comes to the big bad city to make big bucks and is forced to become a rowdy for survival. The cops are shown abetting crime and one wonders why Sangliana who’s as stiff as his starched uniform agreed to be a part of this enterprise. The sad thing about these films is that young girls like our heroine in “Santa”, a medical student are shown falling for and extolling the virtues of the hero. “You kill and maim anyone but love me for five minutes a day,” coos the lass fluttering her eyelashes. She even has sickles with which he has committed murders as souvenirs. Oops! Shivraj Kumar is pretty good in the emotional scenes. He’s come a long way as an actor but should stop accepting such mindless films. The sad part is the film was granted an adult only certificate but I saw a couple of toddlers accompanying their parents. You don’t know whether the theatre should be hauled up or the parents.
There’s another wave in Tamil cinema with a fresh crop of newcomers bursting with new ideas and making sensible films. After the refreshing “Mozhi” comes “Chennai 600028” about gully cricket. This film is directed by Venkat Prabhu, son of Gangai Amaran and produced by Charan, son of SPB. Both these youngsters have access to the biggest of stars but get the best out of a team of youngsters who’re simply brilliant. The director has given in to a couple of commercial clichés but you can’t blame him because the first film he directed for his pal, Charan, flopped badly. Technically excellent with some foot tapping music by Yuvan Shanker Rajaa, the film is about two rival teams. There’s camaraderie, chicanery, competitiveness and comedy that’s not inserted for the sake of it. Nothing is overdone. The three youngsters are sons of illustrious fathers who clawed their way to success but these guys are carving a cool niche of their own. I will stick my neck out and say I enjoyed the film more than “Lagaan”.
There are some interesting releases in Kannada like “Kshana Kshana”, “Mathaad Mathaad Mallige” and Sudeep’s take on “Bawarchi”. “Kshana Kshana” will either revive or seal the career of Sunil Kumar Desai. “Mathaad Mathaad” is about environment and Vishnuvardhan is pretty happy with the film. But should a mediocre film like “Amruthadhare” be taken all the way and showcased in Cannes?
When there are committees for everything shouldn’t there be one to screen films that represent our State?
“Amruthadhare” definitely does not hold a mirror to best of Kannada cinema.
