Chitra Varga

“ My imagination is a monastery; and, I am its monk,” wrote the English poet extraordinaire, John Keats. That imagination on occasion manifests in movie about a monastery though. " ಮಠ " (' Matha ', the term for ' Hindu denominational monastery ') is a 2006 Kannada film, which was a commercial success. The black comedy received thumbs-up from fans and critics alike; it won a few awards too. It has a theme that provokes thought and forces introspection in the audience. Little wonder then that the path-breaking flick has become an inflection point in mainstream movie-making; over time, it has assumed the status of a cult classic. The story revolves around the monkey business in a monastery; and, the waggishness of its monks. The film’s male lead, Venkatesha, alias Upakathe Govindu (Jaggesh), a taxi-driver, gives an account of past occurrences at a monastery, which runs an orphanage for differently-abled children. Unable to desist from worldly pleasures, t...

“ An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind,” is a saying often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi incorrectly. All the same, this take on the B iblical Hebrew 'eye-for-eye' tenet of retributive justice is no doubt rooted in pacifist ideology. " ದೇವತಾ ಮನುಷ್ಯ " (' Devatha Manushya ', which means ' Divine Man ') is a 1988 Kannada film, which was a superhit at the box-office. The social drama won a few awards too. Krishnamurthy (Dr. Rajkumar) is a sincere, diligent driver, who leads a simple life. He is in a relationship with Jaya (Geetha). Murthy's employer, Kapanipathy (Rajanand), is a man of repute in society; but, there is a dark side to his wealth and success. Murthy gets falsely convicted in a high-profile case involving heist of treasures from a temple. He is sentenced to a long-term in prison; so, he wants to seek retributive justice. Does Murthy succeed? Or, does wiser counsel prevail on him? Director Singeetham Srinivasa R...

“ As you sow, so do you reap ,” is a well-known pithy saying. Karma– or, action for an action, good or bad, as author Stephen Richards put it– does work in mystical, mysterious ways. “ ಉಂಡೂ ಹೋದ ಕೊಂಡೂ ಹೋದ ” [‘ Undu Hoda Kondu Hoda ’, which translates loosely to “ Ate and Went; Took and Went ”] is a 1992 Kannada film that weaves its plot around karmic reaction to one’s misdeeds. The satirical comedy won several awards; it was critically well received too. The male protagonist of the film, Krishna (Anant Nag) dupes simple, trusting village folk of their monies by pretending to be a ‘cow inspector’ and making false promises about the milk yields of imported cows. He even has a fling with Rukmini (Tara), a spunky belle. But then, he too falls prey to a honey-trap and loses all his ill-gotten money. This flick is Nagathihalli Chandrashekar ’s debut directorial endeavor. The rough edges are apparent; a few sequences are overly dramatized for some cheap, avoidable laughs. Thankful...

Dandupalya is a quaint village in Karnataka, which attained notoriety because of the misdeeds of a criminal gang with origins in that village. The merciless gang committed scores of ruthless rapes, burglaries and murders and unleashed a reign of terror in and around the metropolitan areas of Bengaluru. It is estimated that the gang killed in cold-blood over eighty people between 1996 and 2001. Eleven of the gang members were sent to the gallows. " ದಂಡುಪಾಳ್ಯ " (' Dandupalya ') is a 2012 Kannada film that documents the gruesome crimes of the notorious gang. The crime drama received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success. It was dubbed in Telugu (' Dandupalyam ') and Tamil (' Karimedu '). The plot, rooted in reality, revolves around this tightly-knit group of bandits, who would feast on donkey meat and get drunk on hooch before hatching their devious plan. The next day, Lakshmi ( Pooja Gandhi ) would scout the neighborhood for...

It has been arguably said that you can only cheat a greedy man , not an honest one. True at times; not always. Often the naive too fall prey to the devilry of the consummate con artist. " ಸುಬ್ಬ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಿ " (' Subba Shastri ') is a 1966 Kannada film based on the novel Aashada Bhoothi  by  AN Murthy Rao. The crime drama, with the trappings of a family drama, was well appreciated by audiences and critics alike. The flick portrays, charmingly too, the pitfalls of harbouring excessively strong fraternal feelings; and, how fissures can develop easily within a family when outsiders with dubious antecedence rule the roost. The male protagonist, Subba Shastry (Kalyan Kumar) is a cheat, who sweet-talks his way quoting the scriptures and uttering pearls of wisdom. Blessed with a baritone voice, the wily, glib fellow can melt hearts with his euphonic, captivating renditions of devotional songs. With the police hot on his heels, Subba reaches the temple town of Melkote, ...

“ The very essence of romance is uncertainty ,” observed Oscar Wilde, the Irish poet. " ಬೆಳದಿಂಗಳ ಬಾಲೆ " (' Beladingala Baale ', which means ' Moonlight Lady ') is a 1995 Kannada film, which weaves uncertainty into the drama behind a romance. Based on a Telugu novel penned by Yandamoori Veerendranath and titled ' Vennello Adapilla ' , the flick deservingly won many laurels and awards; it received rave reviews from critics too . The male protagonist of the movie, Revanth (Ananth Nag) is a chess grandmaster, who returns home bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after beating the reigning world champion, Polonski in an international tournament. In spite of the accolades that he gets from friends and family, Revanth is dejected at the lukewarm reception from the media, not to mention the lack of a fan following. He soon receives a call from a doting female fan, who sets him and his bosom friend and confidante, James (Ramesh Bhat) on a wild-goose chase, or ...

Benjamin Franklin, the American polymath, put it succintly when he said, “ Where there's Marriage without Love, there will be Love without Marriage. ” " ಕಾಡಿನ ಬೆಂಕಿ " (' Kaadina Benki ', or ' Forest Fire ') is a 1987 Kannada film, which was critically appreciated and won a slew of awards. Based on N D'Souza's novel, the film addresses the adult themes of adultery, erectile dysfunction and much more, thankfully with some finesse. Rajaram (Suresh Heblikar), a forest range officer, moves into the guest house deep inside a dense jungle in the hills. The old caretaker is married to a young lady, Manohari (Vanitha Vasu), who yearns for coital pleasures. Sparks fly between the two; they succumb to their carnal urges and consummate their illicit relationship. Complications set in when Rajaram marries Yashoda (Mamta Rao) and Manohari conceives. On top, Rajaram begins to experience virility issues; he makes kinky-'n-queer sexual demands. Oh......

It is said: ' God is deaf, if the heart be dumb.” Indeed, more so when the dumb heart is filled with apathy and prejudice. " ಪ್ರಸಾದ್ " ('Prasad') is a 2012 Kannada film, which not only won a bunch of awards, but also received great appreciation from critics. The family drama was a success at the box office, grand too! The plot revolves around the male protagonist, Shankar (Arjun Sarja), a morally upright and deeply religious mechanic leading a blissful life with his wife, Malathi (Madhuri Bhattacharya). Soon Prasad (Sankalp), a child with speech and hearing impairment, is born to the couple. While Malathi dotes over Prasad; Shankar detests him. In fact, the birth of the differently abled son perturbs Shankar so much that he even loses faith in God. In due course, Prasad's special talent for swimming is discovered. Eventually, Shankar too begins to bond with and adore Prasad. He soon focuses on saving enough money for Prasad's speech therapy and ...