Chitra Varga

H P Lovecraft , an American writer, said discerningly: “ The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown . ” ‘ 6-5=2 ’  is a 2013  Kannada movie based on that sentiment. This supernatural thriller, a horror flick to boot, apparently drew its inspiration from the American indie film, ‘ The Blair Witch Project .’ It was critically well received and remade in Hindi ( 6-5 = 2 ) and dubbed into Telugu ( Chitram Kadu Nizam ). The plot revolves around paranormal activities during an adventurous camping expedition up a densely forested hill. Most of the trekkers die in macabre, blood-curdling incidents during the trip. Their ordeal is recorded on a trekker’s camera, which is recovered during the rescue operation. Debut writer and director KS Ashoka is refreshingly brilliant with his story-telling…albeit in the first half. He lets the viewer down once the bizarre and the grotesque of the metaphysical takes over ...

Samuel Johnson, the English writer extraordinaire wrote, “A man used to vicissitudes is not easily dejected.” The underlying tenet of the pithy saying is that you need to take in your stride whatever life throws at you. “ ದಿಯಾ ” (‘ Dia ’) is a 2020 Kannada film, which received scads of critical applause. The romantic drama was a commercial success too . The film takes a peep into the frailty and fragility of the human mind; it also explores the role hope plays in life.   The female protagonist, Dia Swaroop (Khushi Ravi), an introverted biotechnology student, has a secret crush on her senior, Rohit (Dheekshith Shetty). Dia though fails to express her feelings and Rohit moves on in life. The two meet again; and, romance fills the air. The blossoming love leads to a happily married life ever after, right? Wrong! A road accident turns Dia’s life upside down. Severely depressed, she decides to commit suicide. That is when Adi ( Pruthvi Ambaar ), oozing charm and cheer, enter...