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EDITOR'S PICK
Rating ***
"Shikari" shows the sparks of brilliance in Abhaya Simha as a writer.
He has written a good script and even dialogues make a good impact. The film
distinguishes itself from normal Kannada films in the way it has been written.
It is plausible that Abhaya convinced Malayalam superstar Mammootty to work in a
script that is essentially rooted in the Kannada ethos.
"Shikari" is the story of Abhijith, a software engineer in Bengaluru,
who accidentally comes across a half-written manuscript novel set in the
pre-independence era. The novel is about a hunter and a village girl.
Abhijith loves Aruna, the prime character of the novel, who is a hunter arousing
patriotic feelings in the rural folk. In the novel, Aruna is in love with Renuka,
a village girl and daughter of a rich person. Since the novel is half completed,
Abhijith sets on a journey to Manjinadka village near Theerthahalli to find the
remaining pages of the book.
There he meets Nanditha, who is trying to sell her ancestral property and settle
in Bengaluru. Abhijith imagines Aruna to be his own lookalike and Nanditha as
Renuka.
He will not be able to meet the real life characters of the novel based on the
freedom upspring in the village, but he finds Renuka to be dead just at a time
when the intensity of love towards Nanditha escalates. Then Nanditha says that
she is in love with Abhijith and had written the remaining pages of the novel
with her own imagination.
The film is slow but sometimes gets into engaging mode. Through the film, Abhaya
has tried to convey a message that even after 65 years of Independence, the
country is still under the control of foreign hegemony through trade and
business contracts. However, the message fails to make an impact because of the
director`s confused narration. .
The quality of the film`s music and camera work has attained respectable
standards. However, a major flaw of the film is Mammootty`s dubbing, which is
quite inferior and does not match well with the content.
Mammootty plays the role of software engineer, but his performance as Aruna, the
hunter, is the best part of the film. However, unfortunately his dubbing is a
big let down. He is shown as a Delhi-based North Indian, but speaks Kannada in
the Malayalam accent.
While Poonam does justice to her role, Malayalam actor Innocent, Mathew, Kannada
artist Neenasam Achutha, Sharath Lohithashwa, Aswath, Sathish, Sihi Kahi Chandru
have also aptly filled in their roles. Harikrishna has created the best
background score for the film as well as musical composition.
Shrivastava`s camera work captures the old structures and interiors very well.
The art direction by Dinesh Mangalore is also commendable. "Shikari"
is a good attempt despite some major mistakes.