MIGHTY MOTIVATION OF MONEY & ITS MATTERS

‘Money cannot buy love,’ many say! But, it can surely usher cheer, cordiality and camaraderie in the lives of people. After all, folks swarm around the moneyed like bees to a honeypot!

“ಕಾಸಿದ್ರೆ ಕೈಲಾಸ” (‘Kasidre Kailasa’, which equates to: ‘Affluence is Heaven’) is a 1971 Kannada film, which stresses the need for due care while managing money matters. The core plot of the film was used in a Hindi film (Sabse Bada Rupaiya). It fared well in its ticket-booth collections.

A stinking-rich, but compassionate man, Gopi (Dr. Rajkumar) is a spendthrift. Naïve, trusting to a fault, Gopi is surrounded by a bunch of flunkies, who live off him. While Gopi harbors affection for the sidekicks, they see the former only as a golden goose. Shakuntala (Vanisri) is his romantic interest.

One day Gopi sees Ramu (Udaykumar), a well-educated, unemployed graduate reeling under the pangs of hunger and reaching out for a few morsels of leftovers on the street. He feeds Ramu and takes him as a bosom friend. Ramu soon realizes that Gopi’s lackeys fawn on him for his money; but, the former censures the latter for suggesting that those around are only good-for-nothing, fair-weather buddies.

Soon the gang conspires deviously with Gopi’s secretary (Srinath) to kill him and usurp all his wealth. Ramu foils the plot; and, saves Gopi from imminent doom, death and destruction. But, Ramu loses his legs in the bargain. Obliged Gopi gifts all his wealth to Ramu.

That is when Ramu changes colours like a chameleon; turning out to be a snake in the grass, he throws Gopi out of his home.

How does Gopi regain his wealth? That is the gist of the remaining story.

Director K Janakiram has dished out stew-like fare onscreen; execution lacks finesse― case in point, a car-cycle chase in one of the sequences! Balamurugan’s farfetched screenplay, with its implausible turns, twists and twirls, not to mention the trials and travails of characters therein, encumbers the narrative. In short, the plot is rooted in reality; but, the script flies into fantasy.

The loopholes in the story-telling lower the impact of a strong plot…despite the terrific dialogues of the literary giant, RN Jayagopal. Editing and camerawork are also somewhat passé. Chellapilla Satyam’s musical score has a couple of tracks that are true gems.

Versatile Dr. Rajkumar has delivered a strong performance; Udaykumar too matches his costar pound-for-pound in theatrics. In many scenes, the dramatization is right up there; in others, it is a tad over-the-top. The female lead, Vanisri is marginalized by her male counterparts, who were both stalwarts in the industry. Srinath, B Jaya, Narasimharaju, Nagappa, Bangalore Nagesh and others have supported well.

I rate this domestic drama: 7.0 on 10!