FREUD AND OEDIPUS IN MOTHER-SON RELATIONSHIP

“All the world is a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed!” Those are the Irish dramatist, Sean O'Casey's words, nay, pearls of wisdom. There is no other film that drives home this point as touchingly as "ರಂಗನಾಯಕಿ" ('Ranganayaki', which translates to: 'Stage Heroine'), a 1981 hugely-popular, critically-acclaimed Kannada film.

Based on a reputed novelist, Ashwattha's work of the same name, this flick is a cultural and historical milestone in Kannada cinema for the bold and mature handling of 'Oedipus Complex' as a theme. It is perhaps the chef-d’œuvre of Kanagal's rich legacy in film-making.

The movie's female protagonist, Ranganayaki (Aarathi) is the star attraction of a touring theatre group run by her foster-father, Appaji (Kunigal Ramanath); and, step-brother, Ramanna (Ambarish). A versatile actor, she pulls the crowds and is the cynosure of attention in the plays of the troupe. A rich man, Nagaraja (Ashok) is enamoured by Ranganayaki's beauty and falls in love with her. After a brief period of courtship, he marries Ranganayaki and forces her to bid adieu, albeit with reluctance, to the stage. The couple beget a son.

Soon the marriage runs into rough weather and Ranganayaki returns to stage. The drama troupe though faces severe financial stress. When the outfit is on the verge of bankruptcy, Ranganayaki agrees to act in cinema with 'Mala' as her screenname. She also earns tremendous fame, fortune and stardom in the world of films. Yet, she suffers from depression. Eventually, she gets romantically entangled with Shekhar (Ramakrishna) an ardent fan and college student.

Whether middle-aged Ranganayaki alias Mala, a quintessential movie celebrity attains marital bliss with her young inamorato, Shekhar is the rest of the plot. The narrative deals with the female lead's relationships with the men in her life— father, brother, husband and son.

Puttanna Kanagal has directed this family drama with elan and finesse. He had an extraordinary ability to portray the great complexities in relationships with good ole' simplicity. He was surely one of very few in the world who could effortlessly bridge the divide between art films and mainstream movies; he was a pioneering purveyor of blended crossover-'n-commercial cinema.

The film has a relaxed, yet riveting pace. Veteran M Ranga Rao's music is terrific. Nonetheless, the film is about half hour too long. A few scenes are mawkish too; the high “mopes index” is perhaps to enhance the cinematic appeal for emotional audiences.

Aarathi is brilliant in the lead role; very few actors can strike the perfect balance betwixt the stoical and the theatrical. Ambarish has put up a tender performance, a complete antithesis of his onscreen persona. Ramakrishna is comically bubbly with his antics. The rest of the supporting cast too has delivered effective performances.

My rating is: 9.0 on 10!