Novel based recent kannada films

Happened to watch two noticeable novel based Kannada films recently.

There were few reports in the media about Kannada films industry making losses. The complaint was that Kannada audiences were not encouraging the Kannada films enough.

Puttanna used to make movies based on novels. There were good art movies made in '70s too. Art movies weren't reaching many, not having commercial success.

The two films based on novels released recently were significant in terms of what they have achieved.
One excelled in adhering to the story theme & succeeded in depicting the historical environment quite effectively with the message of communal harmony.
Another one succeeded in modifying the story to find value for life even with all the sufferings due to the surrounded blind beliefs and rituals.

KallaraLi hoovaagi

BL Venu has been a popular novelist. Several of his novels used to be published in Taranga in '80s and '90s in instalments. He had also ventured writing novels whose story is woven around history too. One of those is 'KallaraLi hoovaagi'woven around the era of Madakari Naayaka, the ruler of Chitradurga.(I think it was published in Sudha magazine several years back. I had read quite a few instalments of it then.) The story focuses on a love story(BL Venu's most of the novels theme is love story) between inter-religious lovers & how society raects to it. The depiction of a embarasment of a Lingayat family nursing a muslim girl in their house was quite amusing especially when adhering to their rituals(especially coping up with chicken biryani smell).

Nagabharan, a talented director with drama background(had worked with people like BV Karanth earlier) had given life to the story. One can see that his experience from theatre has been utilized well in the movie, though in certain places one may get the feeling that there are certain places the sceneries are limited to 90 degrees (limitation of theatre stage) instead of 360 degrees.
He has packed the movie with big stars - like Ambarish, Ananthnag, Bharathi, Sumalatha,Devraj, Vijaya Raghavendra, etc., but only few had made justice to the roles. Ananthnag suited to his role, Ambarish, Devaraj are not impactful.Heroin doesn't look good match for the hero(Vijay Raghavendra). Nagabharan has used graphics, animations well (for chopping of heads too, though it may look violent, may not be advisable for children).



Naayi neraLu

Girish Kasaravalli has made several award winning movie. People often say that he makes movies only for awards. Some of his movies contained strong messages too like Tabarana kathe! He has mastered the art of making his movie quite impactful too. Though he has made several movies based on several good novels/stories too, the latest novel he selected had several challenges.

The novel 'Naayi neraLu'from Bhyrappa is of typical Bhyrappa style depicting some of the old rituals and blind beleifs like 'rebirth'. Bhyrappa sometimes ends up his novel as if advocating retrograde beliefs! Depicting this novel as it is in a movie would have got Kasarvalli the bad name as a 'retrograde'director too. But Kasaravalli adapted it to send a modern outlook message. He uses part of the novel to depict the struggle people need to undergo in this society due to some of the societal impositions for ill fated females(widows)and modified a bit to show that some people embrace it to get out of some sufferings too. The novel talks about an old Brahman couple believing in a story that their son has been reborn at some other place & try to bring him home after two decades of his demise. The mother was eager to accept the unknown young man as her son, but it was not easy for the daughter-in-law to accept, since she already had a grown up daughter too and the person came as the reborn husband is of her daughter's age! The suffering and out casted state of widow life makes her think of accepting the new person as her husband, hoping that her status can be improved & get out of the ritualistic restrictions.

But the things will not improve, since the society cannot digest the fact that she can come out of the 'widow'status & enjoy social status like other married women. Her sufferings increase when she become pregnant from the re-born husband, even her daughter goes away from her!

The daughter wasn't able to digest the fact that her mother also is supporting the blind belief & find it difficult to accept an young person in place of her father! The movie ends with the daughter getting puzzled by her mother's answer for her question that 'how come mother started developing faith in rebirth theory which she wasn't having earlier?'- for which the mother quips - "she never believed in that till now"!

Kasaravalli didn't rely on any famous stars this time.There were mix of few dialects being used (some actors were not able to completely adapt to it including Ananya Kasaravalli).Sukri impresses with her liveliness (the 'Kudubi' dress need not have been taken to little extreme with bare back!)
Sceneries were looking good (for a change kasaravalli has switched to 70mm instead of his usual 35mm) especially the river side ones. Movie impresses in its theme and settings rather than with actors performances.
The movies official website can be reached by clicking http://www.nayineralu.com/