Chitra Varga

The English actor, Mark Strong opined: “ When you're making a psychological thriller, what you need to do is have an audience on shifting sand so they're never quite sure where they are. ”  Bang on! “ ಮರ್ಮ ” (‘ Marma ’, which translates to ‘ Secret ’) is a 2002 Kannada movie, which takes that sentiment to an extreme. The thriller weaves complex psychological illnesses like schizophrenia, split personality, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), etc., into its narrative. Made on a shoestring budget, it was a hit. Recently betrothed to her fiancé, Anand (Anand), Sudha (Prema) mysteriously goes missing for a few days. She returns home later with some injuries to her head. Seemingly suffering from amnesia, she begins to behave spookily, which puts the family on tenterhooks. Sudha, on top, claims to have witnessed a murder; as proof, she shows a button apparently yanked out of the killer’s jacket. She even begins to act like someone possessed and hallucinates about physical at...

“Every story needs an element of suspense– or, it’s lousy” , said Sydney Pollack, the American film director. Add a good measure of thrill; top it with a mysterious murder; and, you have the recipe for a terrific story on the silver screen. “ ತರ್ಕ ” (‘ Tarka' , which translates to ‘ Logic’ ) is a 1989 critically-hailed Kannada f lick . Based on Agatha Christie’s novel, ‘The Unexpected Guest’, the commercial blockbuster won a few awards too. Remade into Tamil ( Puriyaadha Pudhir ) and Hindi ( Chupp ) and, the suspense thriller is indubitably a milestone in Kannada films. The plot revolves around Akshay (Shankar Nag), a prisoner, who has escaped from custody and is on the run. The fugitive accidentally runs into his classmate, Sudha (Vanitha Vasu). Sudha confesses to murdering her sadistic, schizophrenic husband, Ritwik Kumar (Devaraj), who is monomaniacal in his suspicion of her fidelity. Akshay assists Sudha in disposing of the corpse; but, the two are soon targeted for blackma...

“ The very essence of romance is uncertainty ,” observed Oscar Wilde, the Irish poet. " ಬೆಳದಿಂಗಳ ಬಾಲೆ " (' Beladingala Baale ', which means ' Moonlight Lady ') is a 1995 Kannada film, which weaves uncertainty into the drama behind a romance. Based on a Telugu novel penned by Yandamoori Veerendranath and titled ' Vennello Adapilla ' , the flick deservingly won many laurels and awards; it received rave reviews from critics too . The male protagonist of the movie, Revanth (Ananth Nag) is a chess grandmaster, who returns home bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after beating the reigning world champion, Polonski in an international tournament. In spite of the accolades that he gets from friends and family, Revanth is dejected at the lukewarm reception from the media, not to mention the lack of a fan following. He soon receives a call from a doting female fan, who sets him and his bosom friend and confidante, James (Ramesh Bhat) on a wild-goose chase, or ...