THE TYRANNY OF THE HIGH AND MIGHTY

Many say that a bad system will foil a good person’s plans every time. So too, a crooked politician in power will spoil a good system every time.

That is telling like it is…without mincing words!

“ಕಳ್ಳರ ಸಂತೆ” (‘Kallara Santhe’, which means: ‘Thieves’ Fair’) is a 2009 Kannada film, which revolves around systemic degeneracy. Based on a story that Agni Sridhar has penned, the drama has for its theme the disenchantment of citizenry with corruption and the political class. It found favour with movie buffs, who poured piles of positive reviews on it…so too, its appreciative audiences.

Somu (Yash) is a young unemployed man, who holds a MA degree in Kannada literature having passed with flying colours. He has difficulty landing attractive job offers because of his average abilities with English and inability to give bribes. So he tries his hand at several odd jobs, before finally ending up as a burglar.

Somu saves Roopa (Haripriya), a lady who’s rejected numerous matrimonial proposals, from committing suicide. He prompting goes nuts about the lady, who he believes is his soul-mate. Roopa raises a loan and with Somu’s help starts an eatery.

The local legislator, however, starts stonewalling the efforts of the duo to earn an honest livelihood. Somu gets disillusioned because of the inability to get justice from the apathetic law enforcement machinery. So, he takes to burglary for making a quick buck. But, the police soon catch up with him. That is when Somu, with life having taken its toll, decides to end his life by jumping off a high-rise building.

Interestingly, the media gets a whiff of the attempt. Before anyone can say Jack Robinson, TV channels by the droves begin to beam Somu live from the suicide site― ‘Reality Show’ and ‘Breaking News’ fodder for the media to run 24x7 stories.

In the limelight for the wrong reasons, Somu grabs the opportunity to make six demands, which shake the entire political establishment.

Does the government succumb to the coercive tactics?

Director D Sumana Kittur has incisively used the big screen to highlight the deeply entrenched unholy nexus among police and politicians, not to mention crooks and civil servants; that is the system. She uses the protagonist to satirically convey the message with vim and vigor. The drama has a generous sprinkling of wry humour, some of which would perhaps qualify as ‘gallows…or, rather, suicide humour’.

There is a certain charm to the rawness of her narration. Agni Shridhar’s plot is clichéd; yet, he jazzes up the conflict with his sharp dialogues. Shridhar has woven into the story-telling a miscellany of contemporary socio-political events that had dominated the discourse of tabloid media and yellow journalism.

The movie’s non-linear screenplay, incredulous at places, is nice. The romantic courtship in the first half is a distraction. V Manohar’s music is run-of-mine. So too other technical ingredients! The flick surely lacks crisp, compact editing.

Yash is a charm in the lead role― he has emoted the turmoil in the life of the character reasonably well. Haripriya is equally good. Rangayana Raghu though takes the cake with his parodied rendition of a powerful politician. Kishore, Shobharaj, Jai Jagadish, Sudha Belawadi, Sudharani and others have fared well in support.

I rate this socio-political drama, a satirical work that is not excessive in its exaggerative aspects: 7.0 on 10!