Brindavana Kannada

Starring: Darshan, Karthika Nair, Milana Nagaraj, Saikumar, Jai Jagadish, Sampath Raj, Nirosha, Geetha,
Sarath Babu, Sadhu Kokila, Doddanna, Malathi Sardeshpande, Mohan Juneja, Sangeetha
Director: K. Madesh
Producer: D. Suresh Gowda, P.S. Srinivas Murthy
Music Dir: V. Harikrishna
Lyricist: Yograj Bhat, V. Nagendra Prasad, Kaviraj
Singers: Santosh Venki, Tippu, Shreya Ghoshal, Hemanth, Upendra, Priyadarshini, Indu Nagaraj,
Shankar Mahadevan, Karthik, Kailash Kher
Distributor: Sri Ganesh
Genre: Action, Drama, Romance, Comedy
Some songs shot in Iceland

Synopsis
When his friend, who is in love with a girl called Lavanya, is being chased by her brother’s thugs, to try to kill him – Krishna (Darshan) rescues him dramatically by helicopter, and helps him marry Lavanya. Krish is in love with a college girl, Madhu (Milana Nagaraj), whom he introduces to his wealthy father (Sarath Babu) and mother (Geetha). Madhu tells them that after she has finished her studies, she plans to marry Krishna. They like her, and they are happy about the proposed marriage.
One day, Madhu asks Krish for help. She has a College friend, Bhumi (Karthika Nair), who wants to go to America for further studies, but whose father (Sampath Raj) wants her to marry someone who is “a rascal and a dirty rogue”. Bhumi has lied to her father, saying that she already has a boy-friend – so her father has asked her to return home to her village with the boy-friend, so he can meet him. She lives in a joint family, of 20 people. Her mother (I think – subtitles say “father” but he is still alive) died when she was two years old, and her father changed after that, and became very strict and dictatorial. It was apparently her grandfather’s (Doddanna) idea that she come home with the boy-friend. It turns out that her father rules his village and has thugs with knives who will attack anyone who goes against him. The neighbouring village is ruled by someone similar (Saikumar), and the two are bitter enemies. Bhumi’s father and her would-be husband dislike Krish and show it, but her grandfather befriends him, and eventually Krish charms the rest of the family, because he is a really nice person.
Krish learns that the ruler of the next village is the younger brother, and the bitter enemy of Bhumi’s father. Grandfather stays for six months alternately with each of the two men. Krish then manages to charm the younger brother, and eventually to unite the two brothers. Bhumi is not in love with Krish – her desire is still to go to America to continue her studies. However, Bhumi’s father decides that Bhumi can marry Krish. How can they refuse without infuriating Bhumi’s father?
Madhu and Krish are very much in love, and she is missing him so much that she arranges to come and stay, as Bhumi’s friend and college-mate. Unbeknown to Madhu and Bhumi, they are cousins, for Madhu is the daughter of Bhumi’s uncle, whom Krish has managed to unite with Bhumi’s father. The girls did not know this, because they both come from different (but neighbouring) villages. When Madhu meets her father, he decides that Madhu should bring her boy-friend (Krish – but he does not know this), and that they should marry at the same time as Krish and Bhumi.
In all this, Krish’s parents (who have met and like Madhu) arrive. Bhumi is kidnapped by the thug who is her would-be husband, and is rescued by Krish, and starts to have romantic feelings for him….

Songs:
1. Mirchi Hudugi
2. Bellam Belaka
3. Heartalliro
4. Thangaali
5. Chikkammi
6. Preethiye

Released Year: 2013
Running Time: 175 minutes/Colour/Hindi

Review
A few years ago, someone asked me how I would classify an Indian film I had watched. I said that it was impossible, as it was a mixture of Action, Drama, Romance and Comedy. That certainly applies to this one, a remake of the 2013 Telugu film “Brindavanam”. This film has quite a few twists in the story, which is somewhat complex. Darshan and the two girls, Karthika Nair, and Milana Nagaraj in her first role have exactly the right chemistry between them, as friends, Darshan and Karthika – and as lovers, Darshan and Milana Nagaraj. Darshan is noted for his action-hero roles, but he is excellent in comedy and romance as can be seen in this film. Saikumar and Sampath Raj were just right as the warring brothers. Doddanna played a wonderfully sympathetic role, as the grandfather., as indeed was the entire cast. We can be also grateful to Sadhu Kokila, for his unique comedy contribution to this film.
I particularly liked the “teaser” ending of this film, although perhaps it did not suit everyone! Watch the film and find out why!

Songs
“Mirchi Hudugi” is a love song with dramatic and inventive picturisation mainly against the architecture of Kuala Lumpur, but also in Iceland, featuring Darhan, Milana Nagaraj and ten male and eight female dancers. “Bellam Belaka” is a song glorifying Kannada and all things and people related to Karnataka, presumably filmed there, featuring Darshan and Karthika Nair and a large number of male and female dancers, in a great variety of different costumes.
“Heartalliro” is a love-song with Darhsn and Karthika Nair, and eight male dancers, filmed entirely in the many and tremendously varied types of landscape which are found in Iceland. “Thangaali” features the entire cast and hundreds of dancers set around a temple. Thanks to Darshan, everybody in the two villages is at peace with one another. During this song Madhu arrives. “Chikkammi” finds us back in Kuala Lumpur in a comedy song with Darshan, Karthika and Milana – in which he “complains” about having two girl-friends. “Preethiye” is a serious song.
The music and lyrics are excellent, as is the picturisation and choreography. But I would like to give a special mention to the Costume Designers, for it is rare to see such a great variety of colourful costumes in one film – well done

5 stars

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]