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.
Film: "Meghave Meghave"; Director: Nagendra Prasad; Cast: Sudeep, Raam, Gracy Singh, K.S.L. Swame, Shobha Raj, Mandya Ramesh and Sanketh Kashi; Music: Hari Krishna; Rating:*