Praising the effort
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The resilience and sheer determination of the mother-son duo Leelavathi and Vinod Raj has to be lauded in Yaaradu
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TOLERABLE The plot is full of holes and unnecessary songs but it doesn’t bore you
Whodunnits are mostly shoddy attempts tempting you to ask the director “whydunnit”. The resilience and sheer determination of the mother-son duo Leelavathi and Vinod Raj has to be lauded. Vinod has had a chequered career after a dream debut. Girls drooled over his dancing abilities but again that was his only strength along with acrobatic action sequences which meant the same kind of roles. He went into a sort of hibernation before emerging triumphant under his home banner. “Yaradu” is interesting because Leelavathi has a meatier role than her son which she performs with élan even breaking into a jig for a song. So they’re not producing films just to keep Vinod in the reckoning. The son of an influential father disappears along with his friends and Vinod is dispatched just before the interval to crack the case. Now the plot is full of holes and unnecessary songs but it doesn’t bore you. It’s not an edge of the seat thriller but you don’t keep squirming with unease. Vinod looks a tad tired. He’s energy personified in the song sequences but looks jaded in the romantic scenes. “Yaradu” is not great but has to be appreciated for the sincere effort. *** Ramesh is back at what he does effortlessly, acting. It’s what comes to him naturally while as a director he had to multitask. You could call it a paid sabbatical for him from the drudgery that direction involves. Now this in no way means he’s hung up his megaphone.
“I’m just waiting for the right project,” says the ever effervescent actor who’s shooting at a farmhouse off Bannerghatta Road. “People started assuming I wouldn’t be available for acting assignments and now I’m forced to say not to a few producers. I guess I’ll have to find a way to strike a balance.”
Ramesh’s presence in a film ensures clean entertainment which is sorely being missed by family audiences. “Krishna Nee Lateagi Baro” is on the verge of being wrapped up. “Mooru Guttu, Ondu Nija, Ondu Sullu” directed by Dinesh Baboo is complete. Then there’s “Crazy Kutumba” inspired by “Little Miss Sunshine”. Being produced by his brother-in-law a couple of songs are what’s left. “I’ve always wanted to share screen space with Anant Nag and we’ll be seen together in this film. The experience was worth the wait,” says Ramesh, who’s held his own in many a scene with actors of the calibre of Kamal Hassan. Right now he’s shooting “Preethiinda Ramesh” directed by Guna Kumar. There’ll be suffuse of Ramesh starrers hitting the screen but audiences will not complain. *** Two films with the heroes playing Police officers are being shot in Mysore. “Prithvi” stars Puneet and is being directed by Jacob who helmed “Savaari”.
Parvathi Menon will be his co-star. Then there’s “Sriram IPS” with Vijay who spent a long time in Mysore for his “Kari Chiruthe”. “It’s a quiet place and the locations have a quaint charm,” says Kumar the co-producer of “Prithvi”. Both films have long schedules but nobody’s complaining because home is just a couple of hours away.
sshivu@yahoo.com
S. SHIVA KUMAR
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