'Mallikarjuna' (Kannada)
Director: Muralimohan
Cast: Ravichandran (dual role), Seetha, Sadha, Ashish Vidyarthi, Bullet Prakash, Adi Lokesh, Ramesh Bhat, Hema Chaudhary, Raju Talikote, Ramya Barna
It is quite disappointing to see an artiste like Crazy Star Ravichandran, who has a lot of experience, playing such roles that neither help him as an artiste nor make his fans happy. It is not clear why director Muralimohan has failed to feel the pulse of the audience even after his earlier movies bombed at the box office. As if it is not enough, he also plays a character that has no importance. The result: he ends up mouthing a few insignificant dialogues. The stunt sequences are far from convincing. The problem with these sequences is that they are too cinematic.
For example, we see the hero flying in reverse mode after making goons to remain in the air for a while. Although the hero claims that he is an embodiment of peace, he can become quite opposite if somebody harasses innocent people. He even ensures that a Trishool appears on the scene just to hang on his upper cloth. The absurd part of the movie is that Ravichandran looks young in a character that is supposed to be an aged one. The audience can see a villain who has no better work to do other than smoke cigar and mouth a few dialogues that serve no purpose.
Bulet Prakash seems to be more interested in showcasing his body without bothering whether the audience would like to see it or not. Among the heroines, it is Sadha who walks away with all honours. Ramya Barna appears in only three scenes while Seetha confines herself to shedding tears. Raju Talikote, as a greedy son-in-law, has done justice to his role. Ashish Vidyarthi fails to impress.
The movie is about Mallikarjuna (Ravichandran), a village chief who demands the respect of people from many villages. He punishes Vishakantaiah’s (Ashish Vidyarthi) son (Adi Lokesh) for beating up a dhobi. Vishakantaiah waits for the right time to avenge this embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Surya (Ravichandran), the son of Mallikarjuna, happens to go abroad to participate in a seminar. He happens to see Priya (Sadha) and falls in love with her. Mallikarjuna arranges Surya’s marriage with Priya. However, circumstances compel Mallikarjuna to ask his son to work as servant at Savithramma’s (Hema Chaudhary) house. Music director SA Rajkumar has done a neat job.
Cinematographer Seetharam has also worked well behind the camera.
It is worth watching if you are capable of coping up with this stale script and meaningless stunt sequences.