Chitra Varga

“ A thriller is a very carefully structured story, ” wrote a well-known crime writer. In stark contrast, a potboiler offers enough thrills despite its unstructured, and often hackneyed, story. “ ಸಿಂಗಪೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜ ಕುಳ್ಳ ” (‘ Singapoorinalli Raja Kulla ’, which translates to: ‘ Raja Kulla in Singapore ’) is a 1978 Kannada film that turned out to be a whopper of a success at the box-office. The action thriller started the trend in Kannada films of shooting at exotic locales overseas; it was a musical blockbuster too film. Shivaraj (Loknath) and Junie (Thoogudeepa Srinivas) are underworld kingpins in Singapore; both are into diamond smuggling and a host of other nefarious activities. Needless to say, they are on the radar of law enforcement authorities. Detective Venu a.k.a. Kulla (Dwarakish) is entrusted with the task of bringing the hoodlums to justice. Pop-singer Raja (Vishnuvardhan) gets acquainted with Gopinath Rao (Shakti Prasad), a wealthy man into some shady stuff. Tara (Man...

The Irish poet and playwright, Oscar Wilde said: ‘ Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious ’. Au contraire! Many surely will argue it is a virtue of the virtuous. “ ಆರ್ಯಭಟ ” (‘ Aryabhata ’) is a 1999 Kannada film that has the duty cast on the patriotic for its theme. The suspense thriller, a murder mystery, is based on renowned Tamil writer, Sujatha Rangarajan’s novel. In the opening sequence of the film, the murder of Anand (Ramesh Aravind), a reputed scientist and a moonshot inventor, is shown. The police are intrigued by the clues, which include a cryptic message written in blood next to the deceased. The investigation reveals Anand’s murky past and lamentable poverty-stricken struggles. The prime suspects in the murder case include Anand’s boss, Somashekar (Avinash); and, his wife, Bharati (Soundarya), besides the maid, a neighbor and a colleague. The lack of a strong motive and the existence of alibis for the suspects confound the woefully lost police. That is when CBI Off...

“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 way to write a thriller is to ask a question at the beginning, and answer it at the end, ’  the British author Lee Child wrote. Indeed. But, when it comes to a thriller film, it is what you put in between that matters . " ಬೆಲ್ ಬಾಟಂ " (' Bell Bottom ') is a 2019 Kannada film that has lots of suspense; comedy too...and, some romance between the question at the start and the answer at the end . Set in the 1980s, the flick has the right amount of action and anticipation too. It is apparently being remade in Tamil ( 'Sathyasiva' ). The male protagonist, Diwaka ra ( Rishab Shetty ) is obsessed with spy novels and detective stories; he aspires to be a criminal investigator. But, his fater Annappa, a cop, prevails upon him and gets him to take up the drab, humdrum job of a police constable. Diwakara though solves a murder mystery, which impresses his boss, Inspector Sahadeva (Pramod Shetty). Hence, he gets assigned to a high-profile case– one in wh...

' Crime does not pay as well as politics ,' is what someone once said. Many are likely to agree, for sure. That is because most are perhaps ignorant of the pay of, or rather payoffs to the corrupt officer. " ಕೆಂಡ ಸಂಪಿಗೆ " (' Kenda Sampige ', that is, ' Red Champak ') is a 2015 Kannada movie that gives dramatic expression to how the high and mighty use their power and influence (not to mention money) to exploit systemic flaws. This commercially successful crime thriller based on a story penned by Surendranath found favour with critics too. The plot features the trials and travails of a young couple on the run from the cops. Ravindra (Vikky Varun) and Gowri Shetty (Manvitha Harish) are in a relationship and decide to elope. The problem, Ravindra hails from an impoverished family, and the latter is from an affluent, class-conscious household. The twist though is that Ravindra is involved in a drugs possession case and has escaped from police custod...

The unknown and the uncertain in a story creates suspense. Sudden twists and unexpected turns in the narrative adds tension...and, that is the standard formula for a thriller on the big screen. " ಆಗಂತುಕ " (' Aagantuka ', which means: ' Newcomer ') is a 1987 Kannada suspense thriller made with that template. The film based on A Balakrishna's story was well-received by critics and the masses alike. The film starts with a woman's paramour brutally murdering her; the killer is on the loose and the cops are clueless. The film cuts to Dr. Anand (Suresh Heblikar), who is affectionate towards a speech-impaired young girl in the neighborhood, Suma (Vanita Vasu). He hopes to get Suma's impairment cured. Suma too is very attached to Anand; in fact, romance seems to be blossoming between the two. The doctor's classmate, Chandru (Devaraj) walks in. The three spend some quality time together. But, that is when the psychopath surfaces again and wrecks ...

  “ They tried to bury us; they did not know we were the seeds ”! That Mexican proverb has a pertinent message in the backdrop of women's emancipation. " ಜಟ್ಟ " (' Jatta '), a 2013 Kannada film delves into prevalent perceptions about the stereotyping of women. The suspense thriller, which won widespread critical acclaim, uses the clash of cultures as the context for its narrative. The male protagonist of the suspense thriller is Jatta (Kishore), a forest ranger. He is leading a secluded life deep in the forest... alone, for his wife, Belli (Pavana) has eloped with a tourist. The incident has shattered him and he is a mental wreck; so, he falls easy prey to the propaganda of male chauvinists, who radicalise him. Jatta rescues an inebriated young lady, Sagarika (Sukrutha Wagle) from a car crash. It is an opportunity for him to reform Sagarika and make her traditional in her beliefs and behavior. So he chains her in his shack. But, Sagarika turns out to be mo...

Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense, remarked perceptively that drama is but “.... life with the dull bits cut out. ” And when 'anticipation' is added to drama, it makes for a great suspense thriller. " ಸಂಯುಕ್ತ " (' Samyuktha '), a 19 88 Kannada   film, was appreciated in some circles. Based on Kakolu Saroja Rao's novel of the same name, the romantic suspense thriller was a box office hit too. The somewhat stale plot has a haunted house, where strange things happen predictably; and, people disappear mysteriously. The male protagonist, Shivaraj (Shiva Rajkumar), a young, adventurous man and his two friends agree to stay in the house to unravel the enigma behind the weird occurrences. But, that is not before he gets to romance Devi (Veena) and cavort around with her. Thanks to some deft inquisitive, investigative effort, Shivaraj and his cohorts crack the case...but, only after several sequences of action, comedy and romance have played out on scr...