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 us...