POLITICS: THE ART OF USE, ABUSE AND MISUSE OF POWER

The German-born theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein concluded, “Politics is more difficult than physics.” It is perhaps the reason why there’s more politics in academics than in politics itself.

“ಕಾಲೇಜು ರಂಗ” (‘College-u Ranga’, which means: ‘College Theatre’) is a 1976 Kannada film based on a novel of the same name authored by BGL Swamy. Critics and cinema fans alike went gaga over the gripping drama laced with light parody about cheap politics, corrupt practices and personality conflicts on campus.

Dr. Devayya (Kalyan Kumar), an upright, diligent professor at MSM College, a private educational institution, is elevated as principal. His upward mobility does not go well with his fellow-academic, Adavaiyya (Loknath). But, the college students, which include Ramu (Jayasimha) and Gauri (Padmashree), hold Dr. Devayya in high esteem.

The management committee of the institution is headed by a pompous, power hungry and politicking president (GK Govinda Rao), who has turned the campus into a hotbed of corruption and a labyrinth of crony capitalism.

So does Dr. Devayya rid the administration of its decadence? Do exacting academic standards get ushered in?

That is the movie.

Directed by Puttanna Kanagal, a film maker par excellence, this engrossing movie is a parodied drama. He shows moral bankruptcy and academic degeneracy as two sides of the same coin. Puttanna’s screenplay teases and tempts the viewer with a brilliant blend of politics and polemics in an academic setting. 

Veteran TG Lingappa’s music is EXCELLENT; a couple of the songs were chartbusters. The camerawork of BN Haridas is simple. He mostly uses static shots in the sequences, which gives a lovely, retro feel of drama unfolding on stage, not onscreen. Editing surely lacks the surgical precision and technical superiority of modern films.

The star of the film is indubitably Kalyan Kumar; his rendition is restrained and sophisticated. He is ably supported by an ensemble cast, which includes Jayasimha, Loknath, Musuri Krishnamurthy, Anantharam Maccheri, Leelavathi, Gode Lakshminarayana  BR Jayaram, Venkat Rao, Dikki Madhava Rao and others.

The film climax reminds one of American president, Dwight D. Eisenhower’s paraphrased words: “People who value privileges more than principles soon lose both.”

I rate this 1970s vintage film, a crackerjack of a parodied political drama: 8.0 on 10!