Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | NXg | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest |

All showmanship

IN RELATIVE TERMS The film is much better than Preethi Yeke

After the delay, the songs set as ring tones, rumours regarding re-shooting and the hype that touched a crescendo "Raj - The Showman" was finally released last week. Phone calls from friends watching the first day, first show were disheartening. "Worse than `Preethi Yeke Bhoomi Melidhe'," said one during the interval. Vultures in the industry who celebrate an adversary's failure more than striving for their own success swooped down. "Intolerable" was the chorus. "We had to visit a bar to drown our disappointment," said one who needed no excuse for a tryst with Bacchus. "The Kannada film industry is finished," said another as if Prem and Puneet had promised to revive it with this one film. Well I watched the film after the hoopla had died down with a gaggle of garrulous kids whose parents thought were in college. Probably thanks to the extremely negative feedback I definitely did not find the film intolerable. It's several notches better than "Preethi yeke" which is not a compliment.

The film is about a shepherd who lands up in big, bad Bengalooru with stardust in his eyes, his struggles as a junior artiste and ultimate triumph. It's not technically tardy like most Kannada films are. A couple of songs are hummable and the money spent is visible in terms of costumes and exotic locales. The only problem is Prem's anxiety to inject every proven commercial ingredient which dilutes the basic plot. The balancing act between style and substance is a challenge for every filmmaker and it's only when it tilts in favour of the former does a film suffer. This is definitely Puneet's best performance to date. His body language suits the character and there's a vast improvement in dialogue delivery. "I have to thank Prem for giving me the freedom to interpret the character," says the star.

Nisha Kothari neither has the `come hither' looks nor the talent to warrant a presence. She looks jaded and incredulous in most scenes. Our filmmaker's enthusiasm in importing heroines for a few flashes of fair flesh remains unfathomable. Krishna's cinematography is first rate but for the over use of extra wide angle lens which distorts images. "Raj." is not a great film, but is not half as bad as it's being made out to be.

The much delayed, but eagerly awaited `Kandasamy' is due today. `Kalaipuli' Dhanu the producer is relieved and excited. "The wait will be worth it. The film has come out extremely well and the advance booking has beaten the record set by `Sivaji'," said Dhanu, who spends more money on publicity than the budget of an average Kannada film. The `Muhurath' invitation itself contained a four-minute trailer of the film costing Rs. 3,000 each. "I know the film is eagerly awaited in Bangalore and wanted to bring the cast and crew for a premiere, but my presence here is vital," said the director Susi Ganesan. The Tamil film industry is tottering too and hopefully "Kandasamy" will revive audience interest and enthuse dejected distributors. But then Dhanu like Prem has ill wishers waiting for him to falter. The ideal thing is to watch a film and form your own opinion.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail