GREED: THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

The American film actor, Grace Kelly is believed to have said: “The pearl is the queen of gems and the gem of queens.” Indeed that pithily summarises the special status that the pearl enjoys in ornamentation.

"ಒಂದು ಮುತ್ತಿನ ಕಥೆ" ('Ondu Muttina Kathe', which means: “Tale of a Pearl”) is a 1987 Kannada film, which is loosely based on Nobel laureate John Steinbeck's 1947 novella, The Pearl, which was itself inspired by a Mexican folk tale. The flick has a brilliant narrative and is considered to be a cult classic in Kannada cinema.

Aithu (Rajkumar) is a pearl hunter from a tightly-knit tribal community along the coast of Karnataka. He and the others from the tribe retrieve pearls by free-diving. They sell the pearls that they gather to a local trader, Mahabala (Mukhyamantri Chandru), who exploits them. Nonetheless, Aithu, along with his wife, Kaaki (Archana) and child, leads a contented life in harmony with the other tribals.

On a tempestuous day, Aithu ventures into the sea. When he freedives, a monster squid entraps him. After slaying the beast, he discovers a humongous mollusc, which has a giant, golf-ball sized pearl inside. The whole community celebrates the catch.

Mahabala and other middlemen in the town nearby look to cheat the illiterate Aithu of his prized possession.

Do they succeed in their efforts? That is the rest of the film.

Director and writer Shankar Nag has created a TRUE GEM of a movie– one that deals with the most primeval of human emotions. It explores how greed, desire and temptation can alter the dynamics within a fraternity, or, even among friends and family. Nag's screenplay is topnotch too; just that he goes overboard 'playing to the gallery' towards the end.

The versatility of matinee idol Rajkumar is in full display. The supporting cast of Shivaram, Mukhyamantri Chandru, Doddanna, Balakrishna, Ramesh Bhat, Sundar Raj and others, too have delivered commendable renditions. The technical superiority of the film, which features several underwater sequences, is beyond doubt. Musicologist L Vaidyanathan's compositions set to lyrics of Chi. Udaya Shankar are outstanding.

I rate the social drama: 8.5 on 10!

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