'Mr 420' (Kannada)
Director: Pradip Raj
Cast: Ganesh, Pranitha Subhash, Rangaya Raghu, Sadhu Kokila
In spite of extremely talented people on board, 'Mr 420' is sluggish, unwieldy and instantly forgettable. This hilarious tongue-in-cheek crime comedy is an outdated script by the director Pradip Raj after 'Kirataka'. The performance delivered by Ganesh, Rangayana Raghu and Sadhu Kokila does not carry any element of comedy.
The whole film looked very amateurish. The production could have been better as it had a lot of flaws.
The film revolves around Krishna (Ganesh) who becomes an orphan is taken to the city from a village by his uncle Ranganna (Rangaya Raghu) where he becomes a small time pick pocketer.
These two thieves are often followed by cop Sadhu Kokila.
Meanwhile Krishna falls in love with Rukmini (Pranitha Subhash) who doesn't like her lover doing the con job. To win her heart, he promises her that he would not continue and also decides to get his uncle come out of it.
But these thieves are caught by the police when they find a severed head in the suitcase, which they initially thought was a bag of money. What happens to these thieves who wanted a normal life is shown in this mindless comedy act.
When it comes to actor Ganesh, he relies on big gags, blunt jokes and elaborate slapstick for laughs. He has definitely not met the audience's expectations this time. There are absolutely no witty or crisp dialogues which we usually see in his films.
Though Rangayana Raghu and Sadhu Kokila are still the funniest performers around, that doesn't mean that they can give sub-standard performances assuming people will laugh.
There was no enthusiasm in actress Praneetha's portrayal as she was just shown as a glam doll. It is high time, our filmmakers make use of our heroine's talent too.
'Mr 420' is not a sincere attempt by the director who has written the story and screenplay for the film.
V Harikrishna's music with Kaviraj, Nagendra Prasad and Yograj Bhat's lyrics does not give out the best tracks for the film and there is nothing really to boast about R Giri's cinematography either.
Verdict: 'Mr 420' did not give a festive buzz.