LAUGHTER'S THE BEST MEDICINE...NAY, PANACEA FOR LIFE'S ILLS

"ನಕ್ಕರೆ ಅದೇ ಸ್ವರ್ಗ" ('Nakkare Ade Swarga', which literally means: “(if you) laugh, that's heaven”), is a lovely 1967 Kannada film, which won slews of awards. The social drama— flush with the have's and the have-not's; the happy and the heartsore; and, more— attempts to provide the recipe for a heavenly... not hellish life. As ingredients, the flick uses motley characters and a melange of events within the story to spread that profound message.

The plot revolves around a rich, arrogant man, who looks at the poor condescendingly. The man's frisky son thinks money, revelry and materialism is the path to joy; the daughter believes in old-world values of love, kinship and moderation. The latter gets romantically involved with an indigent, but industrious young man. That brings a rift within the family, with some finding mirth and others misery.

The drama belongs to an era when film-makers took upon themselves the responsibility of not just showcasing societal flaws, but also ushering in social change. So, they produced timeless classics like this one, which weaves in its narrative the simple message of, to borrow a quote from author, Mary P. Poole: “he who laughs, lasts!”

The direction of MR Vittal is flawless; his screenplay could have been a tad better. The cast, which includes Narasimharaju and Jayanthi in lead roles, has put up creditworthy performances. M Ranga Rao in his debut film is brilliant with the background score. A couple of tracks, for which RN Jayagopal has penned deeply meaningful lyrics, are ethereally mellifluous. Editing and cinematography are good as gold too.

The key takeaway: Hard work spreads health and happiness in your hearth and home!

My rating: 8 on 10!