Chitra Varga

DaShanne Stokes , the American author wrote: “ People turned against each other cannot turn against those responsible ”. And, in the eternal struggle for political power, morality is the first casualty. " ಆಸ್ಫೋಟ " (' Aasphota '– it means 'Explosion') is 1988 Kannada   film, which has intrigue and imposture for its theme. The political drama is based on the author, Manu's (PN Rangan) novel, 'Ayana'. The flick was a commercial smash ; it was critically-lauded and won a multitude of awards too. The plot has an idealistic lecturer, Ramanath (Sridhar), who believes casteist . The eligible bachelor is attracted to his neighbor, Sheela (Triveni). One of Ramanth's bright students, belonging to a marginalised section of society, gets suspended from college because of a prank. The student seeks the help of the local legislator, Shrinivasaiah (HG Dattatreya), who politicises the matter. As someone put it eloquently, ' power without morality lead...

George Orwell, the English novelist, once remarked staidly that a lunatic is perhaps a minority of one. Guess he forgot that often the majority drives the “minority of one” to lunacy. ' ಶರಪಂಜರ ' – “ Sharapanjara ”, meaning “Cage of Arrows”– is a critically acclaimed, award-winning Kannada film released in 1971. It dives deep into the obscure, intricate functioning of the human mind on the inside and its discernible, mysterious connects with human relationships on the outside. Result: A nonpareil classic...of Puttanna Kanagal , the auteur par excellence ! It was later remade in Telugu as ' Krishnaveni '. The  The plot– based on a Kannada novel by the  prolific writer of modern fiction ,  Triveni – has Kaveri (Kalpana), the female protagonist, a smart, educated and sophisticated young lady. She meets the male protagonist, Satish (Gangadhar) at a wedding. The two fall in love and tie the nuptial knot. In due course, Kaveri gets on the family way and the picture pe...

“ In time of test, family is best ”, so a Burmese proverb goes. It is the “family", or rather, “extended family” that provides the backdrop for the awards-sweeping 1968 Kannada flick, " ಹಣ್ಣೆಲೆ ಚಿಗುರಿದಾಗ " ( Hannele Chiguridaga , which translates to: “ When (an) old leaf springs forth ”). The movie, a ' cult classic ', deals with widow marriage and women emancipation– both themes are socially relevant even today. And boy, what a feast of a feature film, it is! In short, the experience was: “ethereal”, nay, “sublimely ethereal”! The black-and-white film, released in 1968, is based on a novel penned by Triveni– the pseudonym of Anasuya Shankar, a prolific writer who authored about twenty novels in her short life of just 35 years– and impeccably scripted by RN Jayagopal, both veritable doyens of the Kannada literary landscape. An orthodox patriarch gets agitated about one of his sons' romance with a threatre actress. He disapproves too of his w...