Chitra Varga

They say a home is where love, hope and dreams start. Of course, those sentiments are amplified when the home is self-owned. That in turn is predicated on the purchase of a home. “ ಯಾರಿಗೂ ಹೇಳ್ಬೇಡಿ ” (‘ Yarigoo Helbedi ’, which means: ‘ Do Not Tell Anyone ’) is a 1994 Kannada comedy, which has been accorded ‘ cult ’ status over the years. Set in the 1990s, the film has the middle-class aspiration of home ownership for its core plot. The movie was a mediocre success commercially; it did gain critical approval though. It has since been remade in Tulu. Champa (Vanitha Vasu), the only daughter and heiress apparent of a rich man (Shivaram), works in a travel agency. Govinda (Anant Nag), a glib-slick operator, woos Champa; he wants to wed her also. But, Champa’s father insists that he’ll consent only if the suitor, asking for her hand, owns a residential plot. So Govinda hatches an ingenious plot to cheat gullible folks of their money by deceptively promising to get residential site...

Edmund Burke, the Irish statesman and philosopher, was on point when he declared emphatically that superstition is the faith of feeble minds. Besides it also indicates a lack of judgment in the superstitious.   “ ಕುಬಿ ಮತ್ತು ಇಯಾಲ ” (‘ Kubi Mattu Iyala’ , which translates to: ‘ Kubi and Iyala ’) is a 1992 Kannada film about blind beliefs of common folk in a remote village. Based on a story penned by literary giant, Poornachandra Tejaswi, the drama won several awards; critics too gave it their thumbs-up. The protagonist, Dr. Kubera, or for short, Dr. Kubi (Charuhasan), a diligent ex-military doctor, is assigned to the ramshackle healthcare centre at Byrapura, a small hamlet out in the wilderness. Shrouded in superstition, the locals seem to be stuck in a time warp― they live in primal fear of angering the spirit believed to be hidden in a huge boulder nearby. A bemused Kubi, an idealistic rationalist, takes it upon himself to bust the myth and inculcate the villagers with s...

The German-born theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein concluded, “ Politics is more difficult than physics .” It is perhaps the reason why there’s more politics in academics than in politics itself. “ ಕಾಲೇಜು ರಂಗ ” (‘College-u Ranga’, which means: ‘College Theatre’) is a 1976  Kannada film based on a novel of the same name authored by BGL Swamy. Critics and cinema fans alike went gaga over the gripping drama laced with light parody about cheap politics, corrupt practices and personality conflicts on campus. Dr. Devayya (Kalyan Kumar), an upright, diligent professor at MSM College, a private educational institution, is elevated as principal. His upward mobility does not go well with his fellow-academic, Adavaiyya (Loknath). But, the college students, which include Ramu (Jayasimha) and Gauri (Padmashree), hold Dr. Devayya in high esteem. The management committee of the institution is headed by a pompous, power hungry and politicking president (GK Govinda Rao), who has turned the camp...

To paraphrase the American columnist and humorist, Molly Ivins, s atire is the weapon of the powerless against the powerful . That weapon is portrayed with patent potency in “ ಚಿತೆಗೂ ಚಿಂತೆ ” (‘ Chitegu Chinte ’, which translates somewhat nebulously to ‘ Distress Too of (the) Funeral Pyre ’), a 1978 Kannada comedy. The allegorical masterpiece won critical acclaim. The satirical flick is set on a fictional island, Gajadweepa. The male protagonist, Gajasimha (CR Simha), is a pretty pedestrian actor; yet, he is popular among his ardent fans. Boss, a gangster, power-broker and political master, pulls strings from a hospital bed inside a blind home. He ropes in Gajasimha to enhance his party’s poll prospects. Gajasimha takes to politics like fish to water. The new avatar only caters to his narcissistic desires. Gajasimha, however, wins the election and is sworn into the government. In due course, he becomes too big for his boots and turns against his mentor, who entrusts Malini (Manjul...

“ As you sow, so do you reap ,” is a well-known pithy saying. Karma– or, action for an action, good or bad, as author Stephen Richards put it– does work in mystical, mysterious ways. “ ಉಂಡೂ ಹೋದ ಕೊಂಡೂ ಹೋದ ” [‘ Undu Hoda Kondu Hoda ’, which translates loosely to “ Ate and Went; Took and Went ”] is a 1992 Kannada film that weaves its plot around karmic reaction to one’s misdeeds. The satirical comedy won several awards; it was critically well received too. The male protagonist of the film, Krishna (Anant Nag) dupes simple, trusting village folk of their monies by pretending to be a ‘cow inspector’ and making false promises about the milk yields of imported cows. He even has a fling with Rukmini (Tara), a spunky belle. But then, he too falls prey to a honey-trap and loses all his ill-gotten money. This flick is Nagathihalli Chandrashekar ’s debut directorial endeavor. The rough edges are apparent; a few sequences are overly dramatized for some cheap, avoidable laughs. Thankful...

They say: “ Faith can move mountains; doubt can create them ”. Indeed, faith helps overcome fear. But, when that faith goes blind, failure follows. More so in a social milieu that has a weak moral compass. “ ಉದ್ಭವ ” (' Udbhava ', which means: ' emergence '), a 1990 Kannada film, won laurels for its satirical examination of blind beliefs woven into social mores. Based on BV Vaikuntaraju's novel, the movie, a parody drama, lampoons the superstitious and a system that embraces blind belief. The male protagonist, Ranganna (Anant Nag) has no job, no income; he has a wife (Mamta Rao) and two kids on top. Yet, he is high on hope, cheer and optimism. Most vital, he is slick, shrewd and streetsmart. Endowed with gift of the gab, he knows how to play the wheels-within-wheels of the system, while posing as a social activist. One day, Ranganna floats a rumour that the government intends to acquire land for widening the main road of the area. This ruffles the feathers of ...