On last Saturday, 23-Aug-15, my wife and I watched "Rangitaranga", a Kannada movie at Garuda Swagath. This blog contains my review of the movie. Note: I follow a personal rule to avoid using personal names as much as possible. I have followed this rule in the blog post.
First, some background : my wife and her family are avid fans of Kannada literature and movies also. In particular, my wife's brother is a passionate supporter of Kannada movies. It is through him that we got to know that Rangitaranga is a movie to be watched. Other people also asked me to watch the movie, praising the thrill element and the story. My curiosity was whetted: I decided I had to watch this movie. Unfortunately, my wife's colleagues persuaded her to watch the movie with them. She watched the movie and further stoked my desire about watching the film by saying that the movie was scary at times and that I should watch it. I told her that she would have to be scared all over again and watch the movie with me. When I tried to book the movie during a couple of weekends, all the good seats were invariably booked ! It was a sign that the movie had earned its spurs, despite the fact that two big (should I say "humongous"?) budget movies "Bahubali" and "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" were also released when "Rangitaranga" was playing.
Finally, I watched the movie on the afternoon on 23-Aug-15. At the multiplex, my wife met one of her ex-colleagues. Clearly, this is a movie that is popular among "people like us" !
The official website of the movie is http://www.rangitaranga.com/. I like it, since clicking in the website causes ripples to propagate, a cute effect that serves to recall the name of the movie, which is translated as "Colourful Wave" ! The synopsis of the plot is available at http://www.rangitaranga.com/synopsis for reference, but it doesn't capture all of the layers of plots in the movie. The first half of the movie has enough suspense to keep one's interest engaged. A relative asked me to observe how the simple sounds are used to build up the suspense. I agree : the sound of the yakshagaana dancer's anklets, the sound of a rocking chair are all used to enhance the feeling of dread and horror.
I don't wish to reveal the story entirely, but it suffices to say that just as the waves of the sea arrive at the shore continuously, there are several plots that emerge as the movie unravels. The plots are: a reporter Sandhya searches for a novelist who writes using the pen name "Anashku" ; in another, a couple Gautam and Indu enter the village of Kamarottu on Indu's behest, where mysterious incidents occur at the village, which in turn leads to other twists and turns ; there are searches for identities ; further, there is a kidnapping and murder mystery that is solved at the end of the movie.
All the plots are blended together. This is where the director deserves kudos. It is no mean job to combine two strands in one movie ; here, Anup Bhandari meshes four or five different strands. The photography of the verdant locations like Puttur look beautiful in the movie. The cinematography is by two Americans Lance Kaplan and Willaim David who have shot the movie well. Usually, one looks at rain from the ground up or at the same level. Here, I noticed that the rain is shot from the top at least twice, as if the camera in the clouds. It makes for an interesting viewpoint. The photography is first rate.
The music in the movie brings back memories. As the Wikipedia link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RangiTaranga states, the TV serial "Guddada Bhoota" (loosely translated as "The Ghost of the Hills") was an inspiration for the movie. In the '90s, there were few TV Kannada serials in the horror and suspense genre. At the time, the national TV channel Doordarshan alone showed TV serials. As I recall, there are two Kannada serials that come to mind : first, Guddada Bhoota directed by Sadananda Suvarna which had Prakash Rai, haunting music, lonely house and eerieness all packed into 30 minutes that kept one on the edge of the seat and the second, "Thirugu Baana" directed by T. S. Nagabharana, in which I recall that there was a murder.
The haunting title song of "Guddada Bhoota" can be found in "Rangitaranga" and lends soul to the movie. The music and all the songs are good. My favourite is the song that plays along with the credits in the beginning. The song is "Kareyole" and it is an alliterative delight. Besides, the lyrics of the song available at http://www.rangitaranga.com/musics/kare-ole/lyrics bring images to the mind's eye. Isn't that what poetry is all about ?!
So do I have any negative points about the movie ? In my view, the editing in the second half could have been better. With all the various plot lines coming together, I was a little lost about how all the loose ends of the plot come together. It was when I spoke to my wife that a few points were clarified !
All performances in the movie are a notch above the average. The actor Nirup Bhandari (the director's brother) turns in a competent performance as the protagonist. Arvind Rao's acting as the short tempered (yet thorough) Inspector Haadimani impresses, as do Ananth Velu as Shankar Master and Saikumar as the post master Bhat. The women Radhika Chetan and Avantika Shetty complement the protagonists equally.
I recommend watching the movie, which is like a breath of fresh air among Kannada movies.
First, some background : my wife and her family are avid fans of Kannada literature and movies also. In particular, my wife's brother is a passionate supporter of Kannada movies. It is through him that we got to know that Rangitaranga is a movie to be watched. Other people also asked me to watch the movie, praising the thrill element and the story. My curiosity was whetted: I decided I had to watch this movie. Unfortunately, my wife's colleagues persuaded her to watch the movie with them. She watched the movie and further stoked my desire about watching the film by saying that the movie was scary at times and that I should watch it. I told her that she would have to be scared all over again and watch the movie with me. When I tried to book the movie during a couple of weekends, all the good seats were invariably booked ! It was a sign that the movie had earned its spurs, despite the fact that two big (should I say "humongous"?) budget movies "Bahubali" and "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" were also released when "Rangitaranga" was playing.
Finally, I watched the movie on the afternoon on 23-Aug-15. At the multiplex, my wife met one of her ex-colleagues. Clearly, this is a movie that is popular among "people like us" !
The official website of the movie is http://www.rangitaranga.com/. I like it, since clicking in the website causes ripples to propagate, a cute effect that serves to recall the name of the movie, which is translated as "Colourful Wave" ! The synopsis of the plot is available at http://www.rangitaranga.com/synopsis for reference, but it doesn't capture all of the layers of plots in the movie. The first half of the movie has enough suspense to keep one's interest engaged. A relative asked me to observe how the simple sounds are used to build up the suspense. I agree : the sound of the yakshagaana dancer's anklets, the sound of a rocking chair are all used to enhance the feeling of dread and horror.
I don't wish to reveal the story entirely, but it suffices to say that just as the waves of the sea arrive at the shore continuously, there are several plots that emerge as the movie unravels. The plots are: a reporter Sandhya searches for a novelist who writes using the pen name "Anashku" ; in another, a couple Gautam and Indu enter the village of Kamarottu on Indu's behest, where mysterious incidents occur at the village, which in turn leads to other twists and turns ; there are searches for identities ; further, there is a kidnapping and murder mystery that is solved at the end of the movie.
All the plots are blended together. This is where the director deserves kudos. It is no mean job to combine two strands in one movie ; here, Anup Bhandari meshes four or five different strands. The photography of the verdant locations like Puttur look beautiful in the movie. The cinematography is by two Americans Lance Kaplan and Willaim David who have shot the movie well. Usually, one looks at rain from the ground up or at the same level. Here, I noticed that the rain is shot from the top at least twice, as if the camera in the clouds. It makes for an interesting viewpoint. The photography is first rate.
The music in the movie brings back memories. As the Wikipedia link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RangiTaranga states, the TV serial "Guddada Bhoota" (loosely translated as "The Ghost of the Hills") was an inspiration for the movie. In the '90s, there were few TV Kannada serials in the horror and suspense genre. At the time, the national TV channel Doordarshan alone showed TV serials. As I recall, there are two Kannada serials that come to mind : first, Guddada Bhoota directed by Sadananda Suvarna which had Prakash Rai, haunting music, lonely house and eerieness all packed into 30 minutes that kept one on the edge of the seat and the second, "Thirugu Baana" directed by T. S. Nagabharana, in which I recall that there was a murder.
The haunting title song of "Guddada Bhoota" can be found in "Rangitaranga" and lends soul to the movie. The music and all the songs are good. My favourite is the song that plays along with the credits in the beginning. The song is "Kareyole" and it is an alliterative delight. Besides, the lyrics of the song available at http://www.rangitaranga.com/musics/kare-ole/lyrics bring images to the mind's eye. Isn't that what poetry is all about ?!
So do I have any negative points about the movie ? In my view, the editing in the second half could have been better. With all the various plot lines coming together, I was a little lost about how all the loose ends of the plot come together. It was when I spoke to my wife that a few points were clarified !
All performances in the movie are a notch above the average. The actor Nirup Bhandari (the director's brother) turns in a competent performance as the protagonist. Arvind Rao's acting as the short tempered (yet thorough) Inspector Haadimani impresses, as do Ananth Velu as Shankar Master and Saikumar as the post master Bhat. The women Radhika Chetan and Avantika Shetty complement the protagonists equally.
I recommend watching the movie, which is like a breath of fresh air among Kannada movies.
Kiran your blog has intrigued me.. Will definitely watch the movie and revert back !! Enjoyed your post as always !!
ReplyDelete~Sudha
I am glad you want to see the movie. It deserves as big an audience as it can get. I hope you like it.
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