Parodi - 2007 DVD $7.99

Parodi Kannada

Starring: Upendra, Neha, Mansi, Umashri, Ranayana Raghu, Pradeep Singh Rawat, Jeevi, Lakshman, Satyajeeth,
Sadhu Kokila, G.K. Govindrao, B.T.S. Murthy, Venkatarao, Ashok Reddy, Tennis Krishna, Latha,
Cyber Venu, Master Shashank
Director: Saiprakash
Producer: L. Lingaraj, P. Thyagu
Music Dir: Rajesh Ramanath
Lyricist: M.N. Vyasa Rao, Sri Ranga, Upendra, Rudramurthy Shastry
Singers: Chitra, Kunal Ganjawala, Shankar Mahadevan, S.P. Balasubramaniam, Upendra, Rajesh Krishnan,
Shashikala
Distributor: Moserbaer
Genre: Drama, Action, Romance

Synopsis

The film starts with Umashri singing “Hutti Rooga Mannige”, a patriotic song – “Be a good son of the nation and of the world: spread the fragrance of the Kannada language” – to her young son, Vijay. The song is continued by his paternal grandfather. But they find out he has not been going to school, but teaching the other children gambling with cards. When his grandfather hears this, he dies of the shock. His mother then has the word “goon” tattooed on his arm, then throws him out, telling him she never wants to see him again. He hitches a ride to the city, where he saves from drowning a little girl, Lakshmi, who has fallen in the lake. She is carried to her home by a man who knows her father, Laxmipathy (Rangayana Raghu), and who introduces Vijay to him, telling Laxmipathy that Vijay saved Lakshmi’s life. Laxmipathy is a real skinflint, but he is kind-hearted. He takes in Vijay to live with him, and to work collecting rents from people living in property owned by him.
We then have the song “Laagu Hididhe Rowdy”, with Vijay (Upendra), now grown up, and a group if young people of his age. He sings, in fun, that despite not having any weapon, and without bashing up anyone, he is the king of the rowdies. Laxmipathy has treated him like a son for all these years since he first took him in, and Vijay and Lakshmi (Mansi) are the best of friends, like a real brother and sister, and when she needs it, he always manages to get extra money out of her father for her.
Lakshmi is in love with her classmate, Vicky, and when it is his birthday, Vijay accompanies her to the party, which just happens to be in Dubai! You see there is the party song coming up, “Cool Drinks, Hot Drinks”, which was filmed in Dubai - hence the change in location! The next song, “Baare Baare”, is also filmed in Dubai.
The final song, “Yadhu Baalo Ruthra” is sung by Vijay and Bharathi and a large group of dancers, and is sung to Lord Shiva, the detroyer of evil.
Vijay comes over as kind-hearted, helping people in difficulties, and also encouraging them to help themselves, and encouraging women to be brave, and to defend themselves successfully against their attackers. Early in the film, a group of men come to Bharathi (Neha), who writes for the local newspaper, as there are plans to bulldoze their colony, Lakshmi Nagar, to use the land for building. She manages to stop this.
Vijay teases Bharathi good-naturedly at first, but later, when the hutments are set on fire under the direction of the Kapalishwara, or Kapali for short (Pradeep Rawat), who incites fighting between Hindus and Muslims, he joins with her in her fight against the evils of society. At this point, Laxmipathy tells Vijay to give his money away to the people who have lost everything when the colony was burned.
We have some nice comedy routines, with Sadhu Kokila and Tennis Krishna playing two men who are in love with the same girl. At one stage, the former pretends he has lost his arms. He tells her that he had cut off one side of the moustache of Ranga, the goon, who had teased her, and that Ranga in return had chopped off his arms.
The rest of the film tells, with several twists and turns, of the fight of Vijay and Bharathi, against corrupt politicians, builders, police and criminals, and ends in a tense and unusual climax.

Songs:
1. Hutti Rooga Mannige
2. Laagu Hididhe Rowdy
3. Cool Drinks, Hot Drinks
4. Baare Baare
5. Yadhu Baalo Ruthra

Released Year: 2007
Running Time: 140 minutes/Colour/Kannada

Review

This film gets some really bad reviews. I do not know why, because it is a very well written film, well directed, well filmed, and well acted. Upendra plays the action hero very well, and also the romantic hero, and like Rangayana Raghu, he too plays a kind-hearted man. Pradeep Singh Rawat (of “Ghajini” fame, is the arch-villain of South Indian films, and is always excellent in that role. Neha is good as the journalist, with a mission, and Mansi, though she plays a relatively minor role, as sister to Upendra, it is an important role, and she is excellent in that role. These two actresses deserve to be seen more often on the silver screen – film-makers please take note!.
I found it rather difficult to write the synopsis, as there are several plots going on contemporaneously through the film. There is the plot of Vijay, his work for Laxmipathy, and his life with Laxmipathy and Lakshmi, and the people of the hutment, colony or slum, call it what you will – but it is their home, and it is important to them. Then there’s the plot of all the corrupt people trying to take over the land. There’s the developing friendship between Bharathi and Vijay, as they unite in the fight for the poor, against the corruption. And last, but by no means least, there are the comic antics of Sadhu Kokila and Tennis Krishna, vying for the affection of the same girl.
This film has the right blend of comedy, drama, and emotion to make it a great film, which it undoubtedly is.

4 stars

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