THE CASUALTY OF A DREAM OF JUSTICE

John Kenneth Galbraith, the Canadian-American economist observed: “Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it’s just the opposite”. Regardless of the paradigm, exploitation happens for, like someone put it ironically, people like to own stuff.

“ಏಳು ಸುತ್ತಿನ ಕೋಟೆ” (‘Elu Suttina Kote’, which literally means: ‘Seven- Rounded Fortress’) is a 1987 Kannada film, which has earned cult status. The social drama is loosely based on reputed Russian novelist, Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’. The film was critically commended; it was a commercial success too.

Anand (Ambareesh), a lecturer, is fired from his college due to his radical views on revolution and dogmatic obsession with class struggle. Gopal (Ramesh Aravind) and Rani (Gouthami) are Anand’s friends; the latter harbors romantic feelings towards Anand.

In an effort to do his bit in rectifying societal inequities, Anand murders the village pawn-broker, Nagarajaiah (Sundar Krishna Urs). He intends to use the valuables, pawned with Nagarajaiah, for the well-being of the local community. But, after the gruesome murder, he is wracked with guilt, horror, disgust and remorse over his actions.

So how does Anand deal with the inability to justify his deeds and feelings of paranoia? How does he confront the consequences of his actions? That is the rest of the film.

Director BC Gowrishankar has done a fine job with the dramatization of a compelling story. Barring the superfluous overhead of commercial song, dance and action routines, the screenplay is alright. His camerawork is absolutely top-shelf; he’s avoided bright lights in his shots to portray Anand’s troubled, guilt-ridden mind.

Well-known Carnatic musician, L Vaidyanathan has the credit for the background score. The violin is the dominant instrument in his music― no surprises there. The editing is fine.

Ambareesh’s acting is OUTSTANDING; Sundar Krishna Urs is in his elements too in the negative role. Gouthami and Ramesh Aravind are just add-ons with marginal contributions. The acting support of Devaraj, Nagesh Kashyap, Shankar Rao and others is solid.

The film is a reminder of the flaws of the leftist ideology, which the Cuban revolutionary, Fidel Castro defined as: “There is no communism or Marxism, but representative democracy and social justice in a well-planned economy.”

I rate this social-psychological drama: 7.5 on 10!