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Friday, April 19, 2024
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KANNADA MEGHAVE MEGHAVE
EDITOR'S PICK
Rating:*
Popular Kannada lyricist Nagendra Prasad
has donned the director`s hat for the third time in Meghave Meghave,
which introduces Lagaan girl Gracy Singh to the Kannada film
industry.
The film boasts of having shot extensively in Nepal and obtained huge publicity
as the first Kannada movie to have released its audio album in an aeroplane. But
all this hype hasn`t helped as Meghave Meghave ends up as a drab
film with unimaginative handling.
The movie runs at an extremely slow pace, often testing the patience of the
audience. And neither Raam nor Gracy are capable of carrying the film on their
own shoulders.
Gracy seems to have lost her Lagaan charm. She has failed to
maintain her figure and doesn`t seem as young as she is supposed to look. Raam
has already shown his demerits in a few films earlier and Meghave Meghave
looks like an extension of his passive expressions.
Nagendra Prasad, apart from writing and directing the film, also does a cameo.
While his lyrics are great, he fails in all other departments. This does come as
a surprise as his directorial debut Nalla wasn`t that bad with
brilliant performances from Sudeep and Sangeetha.
The story is about a well-knit family of Kannadiga settlers in Nepal that
invites a folk musical group to Kathmandu to be part of a big marriage
celebration. Charmi or Chandramukhi, who is part of the family, is to be married
to a US-based Kannadiga who thinks money is everything in life.
Charmi is gradually attracted to Raja, a member of the musical group, and slowly
realises that he would be a better match for her. On Raja`s advice, Charmi
agrees to elope with him, but lands in trouble as the Nepal police arrest her on
charges of prostitution.
Raja, it turns out, is avenging the death of three of his family members and
wants to discredit Charmi. He returns to India, but later realises that he truly
loves Charmi. The two are united in the end.
While Raam and Gracy seem miscast in their respective roles, veteran artists
like K.S.L. Swame, Shobha Raj and Sanketh Kashi fill in the gaps. But the story,
nevertheless, remains boring and illogical.
Surprisingly, composer Hari Krishna doesn`t live up to his reputation with
Huduga Huduga being the only song that has some popular appeal.
Dasari Seenu`s cinematography isn`t spectacular and Nagendra Prasad fails even
as a dialogue writer.
Meghave Meghave is a below average film.
