The language of laughter is what attracts a film to be remade in other languages. After being remade in Tamil as Petromax, and Bhootchakra Pvt Ltd in Bengali, Mahi V Raghav’s horror comedy Anando Brahma, comes to Kannada as Mane Marattakide.
With the template already in place, the next important step was to bring in the right cast. Director Manju Swaraj has partially succeeded in it. With comedians like Sadhu Kokila, Ravi Shankar Gowda, Kuri Pratap, and Chikkanna coming together, the film takes audience for a roller-coaster laughter ride in a run time of 2 hours 20 minutes. The tagline, ‘House for Sale’ already hints at the theme of the story. An NRI from Dubai (Rajesh Nataranga) finds it difficult to sell his ancestral home because the house is rumoured to be haunted. Enter Raghupathi (Chikkanna), a bartender, who brings together Raghava (Sadhu Kokila), a priest, Raja (Kuri Pratap) a salon owner, and Ram (Ravi Shankar Gowda) a security guard at an ATM.
The quartet, coming from different backgrounds and badly in need of money, decide that the only way to make some quick bucks is by staying in the mansion for a few days and prove that there are no ghosts. The NRI too happily agrees to pay a handsome amount for the job. But, what happens when the four get inside the house takes us through the second half where the whole mood changes. After the entire ordeal, do they emerge out of the house without getting scared, or, as the rumours, is the house is really haunted? This is something that should be only witnessed in the theatres. Credit should be given to the original scriptwriter who has balanced the horror and comedy in his writing, which also neatly sends out a message. Manju too seems to have understood the soul of the film, and presents the film without many flaws.
Secondly, when comedians take the lead, one should not look for logic. If you do, then you will lose the fun factor. The awesome foursome comedians are involved in a jugalbandi of sorts to outshine each other , and deliver top-notch comedy. Pratap, as Rockstar King, amuses the audience with his mimicry. Sruthi Hariharan, even though has very less screen space, plays a very different role. Also seen with her is Shivaram, Giri, and Sumitra, who take the story forward. A special appearance by Karunya Ram in a song brings in the glam quotient.
Cinematography by Suresh Babu comes handy and Abhimanyu Roy’s focus was more on the background score. If you are looking for some laughter, this film has an ample of it, in fact, four times more.
Director: Manju Swaraj
Cast:Sadhu Kokila, Chikkanna, Ravi Shankar Gowda, Kuri Pratap
Rating 3.5/5