Chitra Varga

' 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...

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...