Chitra Varga

The American novelist and Nobel laureate, Ernest Hemingway wrote that ‘(it’s) better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.’   Needless to say, it is implied in the quote that it is ‘ best to have loved and won ’! “ ಅರಸು ” (‘ Arasu ’ or ‘ King ’ in Kannada) is a 2007 regional movie that has the ‘ loss and gain of love’s labour ’ for a theme. The romantic drama had the all-too-familiar trope of ‘cementing the rich-poor class divide’; the narration used that theme with novelty though― so, the film came as a whiff of fresh air. It was a commercial success and won some awards for its cast and crew too. Shivaraj Aras (Puneet Raj Kumar) is a daring, dashing and dapper NRI. The son of a business magnate, he is content living off the inherited wealth that his father had diligently amassed. Thus, born with a silver spoon, Shivaraj leads a life of comfort and luxury…the odd barroom brawl excepted. Circumstances though force Aras to head back to India. Upon return, the...

It is true, axiomatic too, that the disadvantaged indeed do have more  to mourn in life,  but also  to subdue and surmount.  " ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಹೂವು ”  (' Bettada Hoovu ' ; literal  translation: ' Flower of the Hill '), a 1985  Kannada  film, drives home that point poignantly....and, thought-provokingly too! Based on Shirley Arora's novel, “What then, Raman?” is a family drama that won awards and appreciation. Critics too heaped lavish accolades over i t .  The movie, set in pre-independence India, is about Ramu ( Puneeth Rajkumar ), a bright, bubbly schoolboy with an endearing smile. Ramu's impoverished parents struggle to eke out a living in a remote village. The sharp as a tack kid though is fond of reading Kannada books; he even goes the extra mile to learn English. His one big aspiration is to buy the Kuvempu-authored Kannada book titled ‘ Sri Ramayana Darshanam ’. But, the price? A princely, ten rupees! Unable to make both ends meet, Ramu's ...

Someone once said, rhetorically perhaps, “ Entertainment is the devil’s substitute for joy. ” But why complain if good ole’ entertainment serves as a surrogate for happiness that everyone cherishes in life? “ ಜಾಕೀ ” (‘ Jackie ’) is a 2010 Kannada action thriller, which delivers a supersized serving of ‘joy’ with a unique brand of quick-paced narration. The film, a box-office bonanza, won a bunch of awards too. The story revolves around the male protagonist, Janakirama alias  Jackie  (Puneeth Rajkumar), a poor widow’s son. The goofy, happy-go-lucky fella’s pipe dream is to make it big in realty. A high school dropout, the talkative do-gooder is never short of repartee though . He unwittingly helps the local priest’s daughter, Yashoda (Harshika Poonacha), elope with her lover, Parangi Seena (Vikas), who is actually part of a human trafficking network. Blamed for Yashoda’s disappearance, Jackie sets out to trace her…and, that triggers a gambol ride. His sear...

“ Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly..., ” said Isaac Asimov very insightfully. " ಮೈತ್ರಿ " (' m ythri ', which translates to ' Alliance ') is a 2015 critically-acclaimed Kannada film , which won awards for its strong social message about our crumbling juvenile justice system. The film was remade in Malayalam as “ My Hero - Mythri” . The plot is centred around Siddarama (Adithya Bharadwaj N), an impoverished, slum-dwelling boy. The intelligent child lives with his single mother, who works hard to make both ends meet. A big fan of actor, Puneeth Rajkumar, the little fella shares his scrapbook with the matinee idol during the shooting of a film. But then, an innocent prank gets the kid on the wrong side of law. His mother seeks the help of Gooli Prathapa ( Ravi Kale) , a gangster, who not only runs a human trafficking racket, but also has political ambitions. Once Siddarama is...

An honest-to-goodness cop needs dough badly; a bad-ass conman is equally desperate for money. The two cross paths during demonetisation. And, the newfound brothers-in-arms hatch a plot to pull off the perfect caper, targeting a bunch of zany characters. Again and again... only till the foolproof plan begins to backfire. That's the plot for the Kannada film: " ಮಾಯಾಬಜಾರ್  2016 (Mayabazaar 2016)".  Director and scriptwriter Radhakrishna Reddy has created magic in his debut venture with a super “thrills-'n-laughs” combo! He takes you on a topsy-turvy ride full of twists and turns. The film is sure to split your sides; that too, with very little cheap comedy of the slapstick kind! The acting is sound all around. Achyuth Kumar and Raj B Shetty are in their elements; the comic delivery is flawless. Prakash Rai, as a corrupt, crooked cop, fits the bill to a T; but, he perhaps could have brought down the theatrics a notch or two. Sadhu Kokila adds to the laughter...