THE POWER OF A POET’S PEN

Bhagat Singh, the Indian martyr, a famous revolutionary and freedom fighter, said eloquently and insightfully: “Bombs and pistols do not make revolution. The sword of revolution is sharpened on the whetting-stone of ideas.” No doubt, those ideas take birth in the minds of writers and are nurtured with the pen.

“ಮೈಸೂರು ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ” (‘Mysooru Mallige’, which translates to ‘Jasmine of Mysooru’) is a 1992 Kannada film, which won countless state and national awards. Based on reputed poet KS Narasimhaswamy’s soulful, splendid poetry― a first of its kind― the movie was critically acclaimed. Set in Colonial India, the period drama was a runaway success commercially.

The female protagonist, Padma (Sudharani) is a coy, carefree girl, who loses her heart to Manjunatha alias Manju (Anand), a school teacher. A fervent patriot, Manju’s pastime is poetry, which is rich in literary elegance and aesthetic appeal. A village accountant and instrument of British India’s feudal system, Padma’s father opposes the romantic dalliance and Manju’s revolutionary activities. Thanks though to the timely intervention of a bangle-seller, Chennaiah, Manju and Padma are united in wedlock.

Manju though gets deeply entangled in the freedom struggle; his nationalistic fervor gets him in the wrong books of the law enforcement authorities. How Manju’s activism impacts his personal life and marital relationship is the rest of the film.

Ace director, TS Nagabharana has crafted a masterpiece; the audience is kept intrigued, and, inspired by the intense drama on screen. Nagabharana goes beyond the banal and the mundane with his story-telling; his style is sans mainstream staples and commercial stereotypes. The screenplay though could perhaps have been slicker and tighter.

Nevertheless, the result: Exquisite, enthralling big-screen fare!

Music director C Ashwath’s compositions―each one’s a veritable classic― have a soft ‘n tender touch, and a deep ‘n sensuous feel…it is pure magic! Courtesy, in large part: the lilting lyrics of KS Narasimhaswamy, a poet par excellence! Suresh Urs’ editing is A1, despite the overhead of a languid narrative, made slow and sluggish perhaps to introduce a measure of deliberateness to the drama. The camerawork is fine too.

Performances of both Sudharani and Anand are on the mark. The rest of the film's cast, almost a “who’s who” of Kannada theatre, includes veterans like Girish Karnad, Sundar Raj, HG Dattatreya, Pankaja, Shankar Rao, Shimoga Venkatesh, Kasaragodu Chinna, Kishori Ballal and others.

On the whole, this film has a uniquely poetic flourish about it.

I rate this politico-romantic drama: 8.5 on 10!