Addhuri Kannada

Starring: Intro. Dhruva Sarja, Radhika Pandit, Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar, Tarun Chandra, Tabla Nani,
Bullet Prakash
Director: A.P. Arjun
Producer: Keerthi Swamy, Shankar Reddy
Music Dir: Vani Harikrishna
Lyricist: Yogaraj Bhat
Singers: Chetan Sosca, Vani Harikrishna, Ranjith, Vijay Prakash
Distributor: Anand
Genre: Romance, Drama

Synopsis

The film starts in the railway station. Poorna (Radhika Pandit) and Arjun (Dhruva Sarja) are having an argument. She is leaving, to go to Delhi. He wants to tell her something, but she is not prepared to listen. They have been in love for a year or so. He does not want to lose her. He persuades the official who sells tickets to say that there is no ticket available for one week, so that he can try to win her back. We do not know why they quarrelled.
He asks her to spend the seven days with him, she is unwilling’ He says that she is afraid that she will fall in love with him again: she says she won’t and accepts it as a challenge. She agrees to spend the week with him, but not as boyfriend and girlfriend. He wants to take her to all the places where they spent time together. They start by going for a bus ride. The bus-conductor (Bullet Prakash), who knows them well as two lovers, is dismayed to find they are no longer lovers. They quarrel in an auto-rickshaw, and upset the driver. Yet in so many ways, Arjun shows Poorna how much he loves her.
On the second day, as he waits for Poorna, he sees another young couple of lovers having an quarrel., and he helps to reunite them. Poorna gets a call on her mobile phone. She tells Arjun that it is Tarun, the boy her father has picked for her to marry. Tarun is a software engineer. She gets Arjun to speak to him: he tells Tarun to look after her well. That evening, Asha, her best friend remonstrates with her about how badly she is treating Arjun.
On the third day, she comes to his house in the morning, and apologises for her behaviour. She says she will wear whatever he wants her to wear that day. They go shopping. He buys her a dress – then excuses himself “for a jiffy”, and goes off to buy her a ring, which a thief snatches. He chases the thief, retrieves the ring, and goes back to her.
On the fourth day, she is wearing the dress Arjun bought for her. She brings Tarun (Tarun Chandra) along. Arjun is very polite and pleasant to Tarun, wishes him well, and starts to tell that he had a bad experience in love, beginning with the song “ABCD”. Then he tells of their first meeting, when the girl was not tall enough to ring the bell in the temple, and he lifted her so that she could reach and ring the bell. Then he met her later, and introduced himself, saying he was Arjun, but friends call him “Acchu. As she wouldn’t tell him her name, he called her “Rachcho”. He then goes on to tell in great detail the story of his romance with Rachcho, who listens uncomfortably – but he never reveals who the girl was. One day Rachcho’s father rings her on her mobile phone, and says that he has picked a boy for Rachcho to marry. Her father will not listen to her protests. She asks Acchu if he will marry her the next day at the Registry Office, otherwise her father will make her marry the boy he has chosen. Acchu agrees, but next day he does not turn up, though she and Asha wait all day. That night he appears at Rachcho’s hostel. He wants her to tell him what happened, but she will not listen to him. All this he recounts to Tarun, still never saying who the girl was. He goes on to tell what happened at the station, when she was about to leave.
Then, at last Poorna discovers why Arjun did not turn up at the Registry Office, what she would have known if she had not refused to listen to him. She feels really guilty. What does she do?

Songs:
1. Thoo Antha Ugidaru
2. Cinderalla
3. ABCD
4. Ammate
5. Mussanje Veleli

Released Year: 2012
Running Time: 132 minutes/Colour/Kannada


Review

When I started to watch this film, I felt really pleased that I had discovered the Kannada Film Industry. It is a beautiful and out-of-the-ordinary romantic story, well written, well directed, and well acted by the entire cast, particularly by the two main characters, Radhika Pandit and Dhruva Sarja. It is difficult to believe that it is the Dhruva Sarja’s first film, he is just so natural in the part.

The film has lovely songs. “Thoo Antha Ugidaru” has some scenes shot on the famous and spectacular Langkawi Sky Bridge near Kuala Lumpur, which was first seen by Indian audiences in the 2006 remake film “Don”, staring Shah Rukh Khan. “Cinderalla” is a love song on small cabin-cruiser, and various other locations. “ABCD” is choreographed for a large group of dancers. “Ammate” is a song of lament, in which Arjun sings sadly of the girl he loved, who has left him.

The film illustrates the serious misunderstandings that can result if we fail to listen to the other person. The reason that Arjun did not turn up at the Registry Office was that he had to help someone in need, with a serious problem. There were two ways in which the problem could have been solved. This is the first time in Indian cinema that I have seen the problem solved in this way – and whether or not you agree with what he did will no doubt colour your assessment of the film. I did not agree with the way the problem was solved, and would have preferred if it had been solved differently. However, I still think it was a good film. Do watch it.

4 stars

Rating: [4 of 5 Stars!]