Movie review: Aa dinagalu (Kannada movie)

Thanks mom for watching this ahead of me and reviewing it for me, Dad and Little Sister.

Rating : Must watch (if you know Kannada)

This is not “just another” Kannada movie…I will leave this “just another” qualifier comfortably vague…I don’t even want to think about elaborating what most Kannada movies are like…So, let me just get on with reviewing this movie..

This movie, is set in the Bangalore of 1980s and centres around the dons of those years…For a movie centred around rowdyism, extortion and crime, it has been made very well…It doesn’t have “in your face” sort of violence that puts most of us educated, urban mortals off…And it is exactly this that why I liked the movie on the whole. Apart from this, it has been very carefully shot (The screenplay is by Girish Karnad, so no wonder! And just in case you haven’t heard of Girish Karnad earlier, he is a playwright and has won the Jnanpith, Padmashri and Padmabhushan awards) Any critic would not miss to appreciate certain things about the way the movie is shot….Set in the 1980’s, it must have really been painstakingly shot..Apart from resurrecting the Yezdis and Rajdoots for the movie, a lot of care must have been taken while shooting….You cant afford to show the Pulsars and Victors or the Honda Citys or other cars on Bangalore’s roads! They ve even taken the pains to resurrect old analog phones where the dialing had to be done without push buttons! The long cigarettes (veteran fellow viewers point this to me!) used to be fashionable those days and the screenplay and direction is that detailed!

There are only two songs in the movie, and both are good….The movie has a sub-story with a romantic angle to it, fitted very well into the movie, not distasteful a single bit…so much so that I almost repented not having been in my twenties during the 80s! May be I could have met my dad and befriended him somewhere down the line! Not that Dad and I aren’t friendly now….But I guess Dad and I would have influenced each other much much more if we were peers! ;-)

Coming back to the movie, the music is by Illaiyaraja…another reason to like the movie!

And finally, its based on a true story…the movie has been made based on part 1 of a three part Kannada book called “Daadagiriya dinagalu” which translates to “Days of rowdyism”..

In all….a fresh and refreshingly good Kannada movie in a looooooong time! A must watch for those who have even a passing acquaintance with Kannada….