GUILT OF CRIME AND SHAME OF PUNISHMENT

It is tritely said: ‘Justice delayed is justice denied.’ On the flip side, ‘Justice hurried is justice buried’ expresses the contra view. Regardless of the speed, there is miscarriage of justice many times.    

“ಸಾವಿರ ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲು” (‘Saavira Mettilu’, that is, ‘Thousand Steps’) is a 2006 Kannada film that took 38 years to see the light of the day. The hybrid drama, which has elements of suspense, mystery and courtroom in the narrative, was critically appreciated. Based on PV Nanjaraja Urs’ story, the movie has the fine line between justice and injustice for a theme.

The female protagonist, Shanti (Jayanthi) is a peppy, young college student from an impoverished family. A romantic relationship blossoms between her and Shekhar (Kalyan Kumar), a lawyer, whom she saves from a vehicle accident. Their love blossoms into a wedding betrothal.

A rich brat, Ramu (Mallikarjun) is infatuated by Shanti and hankers after her. But, Shanti spurns his advances. Yet, blinded by lust, Ramu spreads a rumor about Shanti’s horoscope. The chicanery puts a spoke in her wedding prospects with Shekhar.

With her marital dreams nipped in the bud, Shanti gets accused of murdering Ramu. She is found guilty after a trial and gets imprisoned. Several years later, though, Anand (Basave Gowda) takes over as prison superintendent. He reviews Shanti’s case history and court records to unravel the mystery behind her crime. 

Puttanna Kanagal and KSL Swamy― both hotshot directors― are jointly credited for direction of the movie. The latter finished what the former started in the 1960s. So, the final product reflects the make-do stuff! While Kanagal’s handling of the narrative is characterized by refined dramatization, Swamy’s work is a tad more theatrical.

The non-linear screenplay heightens the suspense; the story-telling starts with the imprisoned female protagonist and gravitates towards the reason for her incarceration― the moment of great drama. Thus, the narrative has intensity; yet, it is convoluted, if not cumbersome.

The reputed flutist, Pravin Godkindi has lent his finishing touches to the legend, Vijay Bhaskar’s music compositions. LR Eswari, S Janaki, PB Srinivas, P Susheela and others are the playback singers for lyrics penned by literary giants like Kanagal Prabhakara Shastri, Vijaya Narasimha, RN Jayagopal and others.

The black and white flashback sequences are in sepia; the retro footage integrates seamlessly with the color film used for later scenes. But for the blending, the movie would perhaps have had a moldy, ‘stuck-in-a-time-warp’ feel to it.

Technical glitches do exist; not surprising since dated material has been used. Ideally, the length of the flick should have been pruned to spruce up the narrative. But, drag is a common bane of Indian films.

Jayanthi is AMAZING; she has rendered two distinct shades to her character― one feisty and sprightly; the other mature and sedate. The remaining artistes in the cast, which includes Kalyan Kumar, Pandari Bai, Vajramuni, Dikki Madhava Rao, Anu Prabhakar, Ambareesh, Ashwath, Shivaram, Sundar Raj and others, have delivered commendable performances too.

I rate this crime-‘n-courtroom drama, with some “whodunit” thrown in: 7.0 on 10!