Chitra Varga

“ A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart,” advised the Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift. Caveat: Money often does not stay put in the fool's heart; it goes to his head. " ದುಡ್ಡೇ ದೊಡ್ಡಪ್ಪ " [' Dudde Doddappa', which literally translates to 'Money only is Big Daddy (Paternal Uncle)' ], is a 1966 Kannada film, which was a huge hit commercially. Based on writer M Ramamoorthy's story, the family drama was remade in Tamil (' Namma Veettu Lakshmi' ) and Telugu (' Lakshmi Nivasam '). Somayya (BR Panthulu) is a wealthy businessman, who has earned his fortune through good ole' hard work in a rags-to-riches story. He values time, labour and money– the secret sauce of his success! His family though does not share his ideals. His wife, Sharadamma (MV Rajamma); two sons, Chandru (Ramesh) and Raju (Narasimharaju); and, daughter Kalpana (Bharati) are all spendthrifts who not only have lavish, luxurious life...

' The way to write a thriller is to ask a question at the beginning, and answer it at the end, ’  the British author Lee Child wrote. Indeed. But, when it comes to a thriller film, it is what you put in between that matters . " ಬೆಲ್ ಬಾಟಂ " (' Bell Bottom ') is a 2019 Kannada film that has lots of suspense; comedy too...and, some romance between the question at the start and the answer at the end . Set in the 1980s, the flick has the right amount of action and anticipation too. It is apparently being remade in Tamil ( 'Sathyasiva' ). The male protagonist, Diwaka ra ( Rishab Shetty ) is obsessed with spy novels and detective stories; he aspires to be a criminal investigator. But, his fater Annappa, a cop, prevails upon him and gets him to take up the drab, humdrum job of a police constable. Diwakara though solves a murder mystery, which impresses his boss, Inspector Sahadeva (Pramod Shetty). Hence, he gets assigned to a high-profile case– one in wh...

“ Adultery is the application of democracy to love, ” HL Mencken, the American scholar, said tongue in cheek. The democratic process is believed to begin with the proverbial ' seventh year itch '. " ಬಿಸಿ ಬಿಸಿ " (' Bisi Bisi ', which translates to: ' Hot Hot ') is a 2004 Kannada film that has the shenanigans of a married man for its theme. The comedy flick was successful at the box office; it was remade into Hindi (' Prem Kaa Game ). Vijay (Ramesh Aravind) is leading a blissful, but boring life in a small town married to prim, proper Radha (Anu Prabhakar). A casual reunion with his school classmate, Prakash (Siddaraj Kalyankar) gets Vijay thinking about leading life in the fast lane. A timely transfer to fast-paced Bengaluru follows...oh, with a promotion to boot. Switch scenes; and, thrill and titillation abound in Vijay's professional career, or rather office. Fate too favours fun and frolic; for, Radha goes to her maternal home, lea...

The reputed author, Mignon McLaughlin wrote very insighfully: “A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” But, the path to 'falling in love' is at times paved with hate and hostility. " ನಾನೆಂದು ನಿಮ್ಮವನೇ " (' Nanendu Nimmavane', which translates to ' I'm Yours Always ') is a 1993 Kannada film, which met with great box-office success. The romantic drama was based on author, Malladi Venkata Krishna Murthy's novel, ' Repati Koduku '. The movie's plot, climax and narrative apparently was the inspiration for the Malayalam film ' Minnaram '. Gopalakrishna (Vishnuvardhan) is an affluent ladies' man. He flirts with pretty girls and enjoys prurience and promiscuity. But thanks to a quirky twist of fate, he falls head over heels for Radha (Srishanthi), who has orthodox views about marital life. So, Gopal and his dear Man Friday, Mukunda (Ramesh Bhat) hatch a plot for the moonst...

It is often said that small acts of kindness can make a big difference. Indeed...but that difference sows the seeds of dissent and discordance at times. One false step and all the good Samaritan work is lost! " ಅಬಚೂರಿನ ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಆಫೀಸ್ " (' Abachoorina Post Office ', which, in English, equates to: ' Abachoor's Post Office ') is a 1973 Kannada flick, which won the prestigious National Film Award. Based on Poornachandra Tejaswi's short story, the film garnered critical acclaim too. The social drama portrays the connections of personal aspirations and interpersonal relations within a small community. The male protagonist is Bobanna (Nani), who mans a post office in a remote hamlet in the hills. Bobanna, the raison d'etre for the launch of postal operations at the settlement, is married to coy Kaveri (Girija Lokesh) and lives with his nagging, nit-picking mother-in-law, a control freak. Everyone adores Bobanna because of his diligent services, muc...

“ When you fall in love, it is temporary madness,” is what someone has pithily, but poignantly said. At times though, love is permanent madness. " ಮೈನಾ " (' Mynaa' ) is a 2013 Kannada film inspired apparently by real life incidents. The romantic drama has the theme of love-induced mayhem and murder...or, madness, in other words. The film was a trailblazer at the box office and won a slew of awards too; critical appreciation was heaped on it in no mean measure. As reported the flick is being remade in Hindi. The male protagonist of the movie, Sathya (Chethan), an orphan, falls in love with a differently-abled girl, Myna (Nithya Menen). He fakes a disability himself to win her heart. The two tie the nuptial knot and settle down to a blissful wedded life together. But then, destiny has different plans. Enter Dr. Anirudh Desai (Ajay), who under the pretext of curing the disability, takes a few nude snaps of anesthetised Mynaa unethically and blackmails her. Enra...

' Crime does not pay as well as politics ,' is what someone once said. Many are likely to agree, for sure. That is because most are perhaps ignorant of the pay of, or rather payoffs to the corrupt officer. " ಕೆಂಡ ಸಂಪಿಗೆ " (' Kenda Sampige ', that is, ' Red Champak ') is a 2015 Kannada movie that gives dramatic expression to how the high and mighty use their power and influence (not to mention money) to exploit systemic flaws. This commercially successful crime thriller based on a story penned by Surendranath found favour with critics too. The plot features the trials and travails of a young couple on the run from the cops. Ravindra (Vikky Varun) and Gowri Shetty (Manvitha Harish) are in a relationship and decide to elope. The problem, Ravindra hails from an impoverished family, and the latter is from an affluent, class-conscious household. The twist though is that Ravindra is involved in a drugs possession case and has escaped from police custod...