Chitra Varga

The English statesman and philosopher, Francis Bacon aired eloquently, “the worst solitude is to be destitute of true friendship.” One may be tempted to add ‘ family ties devoid of agony and anguish ’ to that quote. “ ಮಿಸ್ಟರ್ ಗರಗಸ ” (‘ Mr. Garagasa’ ― literally ‘ Mr. Saw’ , it is a moniker for a ‘ boringly garrulous man ’) is a 2008 Kannada film that has for its theme the significance of harmony and congeniality in matrimonial relations. Garagasa is heavily inspired by the French comedy Le Dîner de Cons and the Hindi flick Bheja Fry . The comedy did well at the box-office. Muniya (Komal Kumar) is a struggling scriptwriter, who is a bit of an eccentric cackler. He is a genuinely decent human being, albeit a bumbling do-gooder. So, goofy Muniya, with his penchant for plain-spokenness, meets a film producer, Parthasarthy (Anant Nag), who is beset with daunting problems at home. Muniya begins to narrate his script to Parthasarthy; but, the queer, quirky attempt soon runs into rough...

Someone said that there is always madness in love. Little wonder, then, that lunacy drives lovers to lie…and, to commit crime too. But, what if the love is infatuation, or, unrequited attraction, a fixation? “ ಅಮೃತವರ್ಷಿಣಿ ” (‘ Amruthavarshini ’, which literally means, ‘ One who Showers the Elixir of Immortality ’) is a 1997 Kannada romantic drama, which won widespread critical admiration and received a slew of awards. The film was a musical blockbuster too. A commercial success, the flick was remade in Malayalam (‘ Mazhavillu’ ) ; it was dubbed into Tamil (‘ Uyirinum Melaaga ’) and Telugu (‘ Amruthavarshini ’). Hemanth (Sharath Babu), who works for an advertising agency, is married happily to Veena (Suhasini). One day, Abhishek Bharadwaj (Ramesh Aravind), a poet and Hemanth's childhood friend, visits them. Abhishek is depressed due to the tragic death of his fiancée , Shruthi (Nivedita Jain). Veena bears a freaky, uncanny resemblance to Shruthi; so, Abhishek begins to love Shruthi ...

The American novelist, Ernest Hemingway wrote: “ All things truly wicked start with innocence. ” Perhaps; but, the truly wicked always ends with trauma…and, at times, stigma, which sacrifice saves. “ ಸುಪ್ರಭಾತ ” (‘ Suprabhāta ’, which means ‘ Auspicious Dawn ’) is a 1988 Kannada movie, which impressed critics and enamored audiences. The romantic drama was a musical extravaganza; a commercial megahit, it won awards by the dozen too. Vijay Kumar (Vishnuvardhan) is the owner of a petrol bunk on a hill station. He leads a lonely, reclusive life out of choice. The shyness and introversion stems from his past speech disorder. He does engage in long monologues though, perhaps to break out of his boredom.   Enter Hema (Suhasini), a very reticent, reserved lady…and Vijay’s attraction to her blossoms into love. But soon, Vijay tumbles upon Hema’s dark past. So how does the discovered secret impact the romance? That is the rest of the film. Penned and directed by Dinesh Baboo, the roman...

A good thriller, it has been said, is one which feels real and carries some truth. " ನಿಷ್ಶಬ್ದ " ('Nishyabda', or 'Silence') is a 1998 Kannada film, which is as realistic as an action thriller can get. The movie was a box-office success; critics appreciated it too. Major Vishwanath (Vishnuvardhan) is a retired army veteran who is also a dog trainer with about twenty purebred dogs in his kennel. Dr. Vineetha (Revathy) is the veternarian looking after the dogs. The major's brother, Vijay (Sumanth) is in a romantic relationship with Varsha (Mohini), which the major has no knowledge of. Fatefully Vijay antagonises a local thug, Veerendra Gowda (JK Bharavi) and gets murdered. That alters the course of Major's life, who now shelters Varsha at home and seeks revenge against his brother's killers. Dinesh Baboo has written and directed the thriller, which has the right, eclectic mix of action, suspense and mystery. He has handled the camerwork credi...