Debutant director, Arjun Kumar’s Sankashta Kara Ganapathi, a romantic comedy, steers itself with ease into the minuscule league of watchable movies. This, while keeping the entertainment quotient high throughout. In its runtime, the film blurs sympathy towards the disorder by bringing in humorous elements. At the same time, it does not look down on those managing the disease. The film manages to strengthen bonds of love, and friendship through its empathetic storyline.
Giving a realistic approach while presenting the Alien Hand Syndrome, where one loses control of a hand, usually the left hand, the romantic comedy mostly revolves around Ganapathi (Likith Shetty). Although an MBA graduate, he wants to pursue his passion to be a cartoonist. After much difficulty, he gets a job with a media house where he meets his college mate Shruti (Shruti Goradia) on whom he had a crush but never divulged it.
Just when life seems to be peaceful, things take a twist. He suffers from a fit and is operated upon, but the side effects lead him to his two enemies-- one, his left hand, over which he has no control, and the second, Shruti’s fiance. Ganapathi’s life takes a detour to complexity as he faces humiliation for no fault of his. Though it is his left hand which does all the damage, nobody believes that his hand can have a mind of its own. His attempt to go on with his life makes for some excellent scenarios.
A unique subject by Arjun on AHS in Kannada, and his effort towards getting it is worth applauding. He does not lose track, never goes overboard with scenes or dialogues, keeps his balance till the end, and succeeds in pulling a refreshing one for his first. Shout-out to dialogue writer Raghu Niduvalli, whose one-liners are entertaining.
Likith Shetty’s has an interesting role, which he illustrates perfectly. He keeps everybody engaged with his character, and makes the disorder believable. Shruti Goradia, who makes her debut in this film, manages to establish herself with her significant role. She handles varied emotions with ease and elan. Achyuth Kumar, Nagabhushan, Manjunath Hegde, Chandu Gowda lend credible support.
There are some good medleys with music composed by Rithvik Muralidhar. The title track stands out individually. Cinematographer Uday Leela’s work matches the story’s theme. Although there are glitches, (a tight screenplay was lacking ) Sankasta Kara Ganapathi, made with a limited budget, gets a thumbs up from the audience for its refreshing story that also touches, with its left hand, upon human relationships.