Majestic - 2001 DD 5.1 DVD $14.99

Majestic

Starring: Darshan Thoogudeepa (HP), Rekha, Jai Jagadish, Harish Roy, Vanitha Vasu, Jyothi, Bharath Bhagavathar,
Ramesh Pandith, Bank Janardhan, Krishne Gowda, Ramamurthy, Raghu, Bhojaraj, Nataraj, Nandish, Punga,
Anand Gowda, Sai Prakash, Madikeri Babu, Prajwal, Chocha, Santhosh, Bullet Prakash, Master Sachin,
Master Shekar,
Master Karthik, Master Harish, Master Rithesh
Presenter: Ambarish
Director: Ba Ma Harish, M.G. Ramamurthy
Producer: P.N. Sathya
Music Dir: Sadhu Kokila
Lyricist: V. Nagendra Prasad
Singers: Hemanth, Rajesh, L.N. Shastry. Unni Krishnan, Anuradha Sriram
Distributor: Sri Nakoda Video
Genre: Drama, Romance

Synopsis
A poor family: a boy lives with his parents and his little sister. His father is an alcoholic, and spends all the money on drink. One night his sister is taken ill, with an epileptic fit. Mother goes to a neighbour for help, for money for medicines. The neighbour will give her money if she has sex with him. But alas it is too late, his sister dies before his mother returns, and the little boy stabs and kills his father. Next we see him asleep on the “footpath”. Two cops come along in their jeep: one is Randhir (Jai Jagadish), the other is Shobby (Ramesh Pandith). They teke the little boy under their wing, naming him “Dasa”, which means “slave”. They get Dasa to do their dirty work, collecting money in bribes at first. We then see him15 years later: he has grown into the King of the underworld, eventually murdering people for Randhir. Dasa’s henchmen are the other young lads with whom he has grown up. He has battles with another Rowdy, called Naga (Harish Roy).
Randhir spends a lot of time with a high-class prostitute and “madam”, Kaveri (Vanitha Vasu). A corrupt lawyer, Ramdas (Bharath Bhagavathar), hatches a plan with Randhir to get money that has been stolen, and share it between them, but the thief dies in custody. Randhir has just been told he is to be promoted to DCP, so he gets Dasa to allow himself to be locked up in jail, taking the blame for the death of the thief, but falsely promising to have him released. Kaveri feels sorry for him, and asks Ramdas and Shobby to have him released by putting up the bail money: however, the price they demand for doing this is that she have sex with them. She makes Dasa promise to give up his life of crime, his life as a rowdy.
Then a rich man comes along, whose son (Bullet Prakash) is in love with a poor girl, Rekha, from the slum, and he gives Dasa Rs.2 lakhs, to separate the girl from his son. Dasa says his henchmen will do it – so they threaten the girl that they will kill her if she does not leave the rich man’s son alone. However, they are overheard by Kiran (Rekha), who grabs the razor with which they threatened the girl, and sends them packing, but not before they have threatened her with what will happen if Dasa finds out. She then tells them what a bad character and coward Dasa is.
When he learns what she said, Dasa vows his revenge. His men suggest that he should make Kiran fall in love with him, then break her heart by leaving her. She does not know what Dasa looks like. He tidies himself up, dresses up, and goes to her college when the students are coming out. He grabs a little street-dog puppy, injures its paw with a stone, so that it bleeds, and persuades Kiran to take them to the Vet’s Hospital to have the puppy treated. She thinks he is a good person. He tells her his name is Prajwal. She is beginning to fall in love with him.
Then she learns that Rekha has committed suicide because of her fear of Dasa. Not realising that Prajwal is Dasa, Kiran’s hatred for Dasa increases. But he is already falling in love with her.
There are surprises in store, startling and shocking revelations for Kiran, as the film comes to a tense and dramatic climax.

Songs:
1. Bangalorea Bakil Idhu
2. Naane Naane Raja di Raja
3. Dhairya Theko Rasappa
4. Idhu Modhalusala da Milana
5. Kangalia Mele Preetia Ole

Released Year: 2002
Running Time: 140 minutes/Colour/Kannada

Review
Once a rowdy, always a rowdy – once a prostitute, always a prostitute – are these statements true? This film explores this question. We learn how Dasa grew up into a life of crime, forced by circumstances beyond his control. Did he have any other choice? We also learn how Kaveri became a prostitute. Did she have any other choice? I don’t think so. They were both controlled by a force much more powerful than they were. Can they escape from what they are?

I read on Internet that this film was the debut for Darshan as a hero, Dasa. It was one of his early films. However, in “Majestic”, Darshan is not a hero, but an “antihero” – the term meaning the leading character in a film, play or book, who is not good, but who is bad. The concept dates back to the ancient Greeks and the ancient Romans. Does he remain the antihero throughout? Love comes into Dasa’s life, in the form of Kiran, a girl he had planned to pretend to woo, and whom he would dump, leaving her with a broken heart. But love has strange effects – for he is loved, and in turn learns to love. Will he then become the hero, instead of the antihero. Watch the film to find out.

“Bangalorea Bakil Idhu” is the title-song about the area in the centre of Bangalore, described as “Majestic”. In “Naane Naane Raja di Raja” Dasa proclaims himself as the king of the underworld, dancing in the market with all his cronies, all the lads with whom he has grown up, on their own but together, all of them without parents and without teachers.
“Dhairya Theko Rasappa” is a song sung by his cronies to Dasa, to encourage in his love quest with Kiran, after their first meeting, with the injured puppy. There is a happy smile on Dasa’s face – has he already started to fall in love with Kiran? It is a night scene with good cross-lighting.
“Idhu Modhalusala da Milana” (“This is the first rendezvous”) is a love-song between Prajwal and Kiran sung on the beautiful hills of Karnataka. He sings “…cute heart, stupid heart, mindless heart. Without making a noise, the message has arrived that love has happened” – but it sounds much more poetic in the Kannada language of the song.
“Kangalia Mele Preetia Ole” (“On the cool breeze is this letter of love”) is the second love-song between Prajwal and Kiran, again sung on the beautiful hills of Karnataka, but this time with a number of female dancers, everyone dressed in a series of brightly colourful and contrasting costumes. Well done, costume designers. The lyrics are all excellent, and the lovely music by Sadhu Kokila fits the mood of the lyrics exactly. I liked the songs.

5 stars

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