Film: Ondalla Eradalla
Cast: PV Rohith, Nagabhusan, PrabhuDeva, Master Rohit, Sai Krishna Kudla, M K Mutt and Anand Ninasam
Director: D Satya Prakash
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Ondalla Eradalla is in many ways a paradox of reality. It captures the fact that love thrives in all forms, even where evil is aplenty. A work by director D Satya Prakash, he highlights and emphasises the term innocence right from the beginning. It is the keyword of and in the film and he has portrayed it skillfully, showing also shades of man’s iniquity.
Portraying the relationship between humans and animals, Ondalla Eradalla tells the story of Sameera (Rohith Pandavapura) and his pet cow, Bhanu. A motherless child born in a Muslim family, Sameera is raised by his father, sister, and grandfather. Together they reside in the outskirts of a town. The seven-year-old boy’s only companion is Bhanu, and the entire locality is attached to his pet. Sameera is often seen taking Bhanu on long walks. His favourite game is to play hide and seek with Bhanu, and on one such occasion, Bhanu goes missing.
The bovine is separated as he is being driven to town by Rafeeq, an autodriver in the neighbourhood. A depressed Sameera sets out in search of Bhanu and gets help from Rajanna, a family friend. The entire family goes in search and lands up in the main town. How Sameera gets back his companion, and under what circumstances this happens forms the crux of Ondalla Eradalla.
While delving deep into the theme of innocence, with sprinkles of humour, Satya Prakash symbolically stitches other back stories - of a father and his long lost son, of a once childless couple, and of the politics of dividing people. At the same time, he also succeeds in showing the unity that exists among people irrespective of caste and religion.
Taking a cue from the popular Kannada folktale of Punyakoti, the honest cow and Arbhuta, the hungry tiger, he deftly gives a human touch to the story. With simple conversations and a few intelligent one-liners, enough thought has gone into the dialogue writing.
Child artiste, Rohith Pandavapura, a debutant steals the show with his captivating performance. It’s his innocence that carries the movie and makes feel for the character. Other new faces like Nagabhusan, PrabhuDeva, Master Rohit, Sai Krishna Kudla, M K Mutt, Anand Ninasam, Usha Ravishankar, Triveni M Vasishta among others also stand out individually. The film also features some refreshing compositions of Vasuki Vaibhav and Nobin Paul and the background score blends well with the story.
Cinematographer Lavith Kumar adds freshness to the frame by capturing new locations.
An uplifting film for children and adults, this unconventional film of animal and human relationships bonding is a must watch.