NANNAVANU - Kannada film review

DIRECTOR: Srinivasa Raju

ACTORS: Prajwal Devraj, Aindrita Ray, Doddanna, Komal, Avinash

Avenging previous life’s tragic death is not a new story in kannada films which is usually followed by a lot of bloodshed. Surprisingly, new kannada movie Nannavanu is one such revenge drama played in the court without much use of fake blood. The kannada film is mildly entertaining throughout but does not rise above the average.

A greenhorn advocate played by Prajwal awaits his big break. What he manages mostly are petty cases which also try to be the comic relief prolonging the arrival of the real story. Also delaying the main plot is the comedy track of kannada comedy actor Komal which has no relevance to the film. His gang of thieves steal an ATM machine and suffer dismantling it (The real thieves who stole an ATM machine a few days ago in Bangalore must be appreciating their efforts).

Kannada hot actress Aindrita Ray offers Prajwal a case and Rs 50 crore even if he loses it. She claims she was killed decades ago, in her previous birth, by the current chief minister. The court considers the case as an unsolved murder rather than a reincarnation story. The director, however, shows us in a long flashback how Prajwal and Aindrita were lovers in their previous birth. Kannada actor Avinash, the chief minister, was after a crystal Shiva linga. For advocate Prajwal everything falls in place and he wins the case without much effort. He only has to participate in a few songs and fight scenes while the witness and proof falls into place by themselves.

The film arouses interest with its imaginative plot. But it is not sustained with a taut narrative. The first half is simply wasted on unnecessary trivias. Prajwal is good as the undertaker in the flashback while Aindrita does her job without much fuss. The music is a relief though not of the ‘hit’ quality you expect form Ilayaraja. Not a must watch but you won’t mind watching Nannavanu.

Ilayaraja scoring for Kannada movie Suryakaanti

Musical genius Ilayaraja was in namma Bengaluru over the weekend for the final mixing of Suryakanti. Word has it that the legend doesn’t usually partake in such events, especially if it’s outside Chennai. He sends his sound engineers to do the job. “But he made an exception in this case because he was happy with both his work and the film. So he wanted to be here personally to ensure that everything goes smoothly,” says suryakanthi director Chaitanya.

Ilayaraja, says Chaitanya, has made a detour from his usual style in this flick. “He’s used a lot of modern music and funky beats in this project. There’s also a lot of jazz,” the director tells us.

He made another exception for Bangalore. “It’s been eight years since he did a television interview. But during his visit, Ilayaraja did back-toback interviews with various channels. He’s very camera shy, so it was a huge feat for him,” shares Chaitanya.

The much-feted music composer has scored six songs for the film, the most popular being Swalpa Soundu Jasti Maadu, the lyrics of which have been penned by Yograj Bhat. “Ilayaraja understands my way of working and knows how I treat a film. He’s a master at re-recording. Music isn’t just about composing; it’s about good background scores too,” says Chaitanya. But it’s also said that the master isn’t at his best these days. “That depends on the film-maker he’s working with. If Ilayaraja is excited about a project, he’ll give it his best. He’s not someone who’s easily impressed. You have to motivate him with quality work,” explains Chaitanya. So did they also discuss his latest, Paa? “Ilayaraja was very excited about the film. He spoke to Balki a couple of times while he was here,” signs off Chaitanya K.

Maestro Illayaraja for a silent film

The Karnataka Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy features in a film produced by Y Sonia Reddy. Dr Brahmanandam is in the lead cast. It is designed as a commercial silent film, on the lines of Pushpaka Vimana. It is now confirmed that music maestro Illayaraja is going to take up the re-recording, which is very crucial for this film, according to the director. 

Director PA Arun Kumar expressed his happiness at this and said Illayaraja’s contribution will raise the level of the movie to great heights. He added that the title will be announced soon. 

According to the presenter CC Reddy, 30 per cent of the movie has been completed in the first schedule spanning ten days. The next schedule will start from August 1.