Pancharangi Kannada

Starring: Diganth, Nidhi Subbaiah, Ramya Barna, Ananth Nag, Raju Thalikote, Mithra, Sudha Belawadi,
Padmaja Rao, Pawan Kumar, Sunder Raj, Nagaraj Urs, Priyanka Upendra, Nagendra Shah
Director: Yogaraj Bhat
Producer: Yogaraj Bhat, Subramanya
Music Dir: Mano Murthy
Lyricist: Yograj Bhat, Jayanth Kaikini
Singers: Chethan Sosca, Yograj Bhat, Ananya Bhagat, Akshata Ramnath, Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal,
Anuradha Bhat, Keshava Prasad, Bunty, Hemanth
Distributor: Aananda
Genre: Romance

Synopsis
This is a tale of two families, two brothers, two girls.
The two girls are Latha (Ramya Barna) and Ambika (Nidhi Subbaiah). They live in a village by the sea, near Mangalore, with Latha’s parents. Ambika was the daughter of Latha’s father’s uncle’s son. Latha’s parents adopted her when Ambika’s parents died. Though they regard themselves as sisters, there is rivalry between them, and jealousies. Ambika believes that her adoptive mother does not love her. Latha’s father is seeking a good marriage for his daughter.
To this family comes a prospective groom, Lucky (Pavan Kumar), an NRI based in USA, an IT-Professional. He is accompanied by his entire family. His younger brother, Bharath Kumar (Diganth), is doing a Masters Degree in Kannada Culture. His father does not approve, so he is paying for his education by working in a Saree Shop. When he was young, his grandmother had taught him how to dress dolls of Dussera (a Hindu Fistival) with Sarees, We see him dressing a girl with a Saree, taking great care to ensure it is worn correctly. The “girl” turns out to be a shop display mannequin. He is an expert, and is called on to dress girls correctly in sarees for a festival, the festival of Pancharangi, the five-colours that give meaning to life. He is not interested in romance. His only aim in life is to be able to have a sound sleep, no matter what happens around. He is extremely difficult to waken! The rest of the family have also come, the parents (Padmaja Rao and Sunder Raj), their maternal uncle and Panchakshari (Raju Talikote), their marriage broker.
Ambika is mischievous, and thinks that Latha’s prospective groom is Bharath, and flirts with him telling him that she is Latha, to the annoyance of Latha, who accuses Ambika of always taking anything that she, Latha wants. Bharath is attracted to Ambika, who falls in love with him. On the beach, they meet a strange character (Anant Nag), who comes over as a philosopher, and who advises them about love and life. However, Bharath tells him that he will never fall in love.
Meanwhile, however, the plans are made for the wedding, Latha realising that the groom is Lucky, not Bharath. However, Lucky has a problem. He always abides by the dictates of his parents, and is afraid to stand up to them, afraid of what might happen to them if he opposed their demands. He has been in love with a girl, Soumya, for three years. When he tries to tell Latha about his love for Soumya, she refuses to listen to anything he says, and talks instead about her wishes and desires after their marriage. She gives the viewer the feeling that she will not listen to him after their marriage, in the way his parents would not listen to him before.
Which romances will succeed? Will Lucky marry? Watch the film….

Songs:
1. Pancharangi haadugalu
2. Hudugaru beku
3. Lifeu ishtene
4. Udisuve belakina seereya
5. Ninnaya nalumeya

Released Year: 2010
Running Time: 122 minutes/Colour/Kannada

Cast
Diganth as Bharath Kumar
Nidhi Subbaiah as Ambika
Ananth Nag as a nameless wanderer
Priyanka Upendra in a guest appearance
Ramya Barna as Latha
Padmaja Rao as Padma
Sudha Belavadi as Vaishali
Nagendra Shah as Narayan Rao
Sundar Raj as Srinivas Rao
Raju Talikote as a marriage broker, Panchakshari
Pawan Kumar as Lakshman “Lucky” Rao
Mithra as Keshavananda Swamiji

Review
I read on Internet that “this is a twisted tale”. It is not in fact a twisted tale, but a tale of two large families who come together to arrange the marriage of the son of one family with the daughter of another family. What could be more simple? It happens all the time in Indian films. However, the boy is in love with another girl. It happens all the time in Indian films. The boy has a brother, and the girl has a cousin, whom she regards as a sister, who falls in love with the prospective groom’s brother. There is another couple from the two families who also fall in love. That does not sound like a twisted tale! It happens all the time in Indian films. What makes this film so unique is the charming way in which the stories are all related. The only strange character in the film is the charming Bharath.
I really enjoyed this film. It’s different from the usual – do watch it and see.

5 stars

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]