Neelkanta Kannada Movie
Neelakanta is certainly the best among the Ravichandran's releases this year. And in the crop of bad and mediocre films that are being released in the last few months, this Ravichandran-Namitha starrer stands out for being a little different.
The film has some good music and its strong point is the story element which has an emotional appeal. It is a remake of Raj Kiran's Tamil Hit "Aranmanai Kili" which was remade in to Telugu later as "Manasunna Maaraaju" with Arjun in the lead.
On the other hand, Neelakanta mainly suffers from weak narration of some high voltage emotional sequences which dilutes the impact. And there is enough number of comedy sequences which are very crudely and haphazardly shot that the audience will feel the pain of seeing them, than enjoying it.
The younger crowd will feel happy for the presence of sexy Namitha who has more to offer in the film in terms of glamour. The song sequences that are shot on Namitha and Ravichandran are a feast for audience looking for glamour and a little bit of exposure.
In the second half Ravichandran has really worked hard in the emotional sequences.
The director has made some changes in the narrative technique by quickening the pace of the film. This has resulted in dilution of the narrative content of the emotional sequences of the film. But Sai Prakash has never cared to give due to other artists even in some important sequences of the film and has only concentrated on Ravichandran and to a little extent to Namitha. The mother's character gets a raw deal in the film. And the number of comedy sequences in the film has already been shown in many other Kannada films, as these comedy sequences have been lifted some from popular Tamil films featuring Vadivelu and Goundumani.
Here is a brief description of the story. Neelakanta is a laborer working for a rich family who live in a palatial house. A young girl is brought up by her uncle as her parents have been killed in tragic circumstances. On work duty, Neelakanta is forced to go to city where accidentally he is made to save a girl from a set of ruffians dealing in a prostitution racket. Out of Sympathy to the girl, Neelakanta brings her to his village to keep her safely in a relative's house, the fact of which is unknown to his mother. Then Neelakanta is forced to marry a rich girl. But her mother who has already met the city girl and has developed a liking for her is against her son's marriage. Neelakanta's mother is upset with her son and vows not to see his face. A dejected Neelakanta finds that even his wife has misunderstood him and humiliates him. Finally, the misunderstanding is cleared, but the mother dies repenting for her mistake in not trusting her own son.
Namitha has certainly overshadowed others in the acting department. She comes off the best, while Ravichandran also scores in the emotional sequences. But talented artists like Sujatha, Sree Devika and Umashri has received a raw deal from the director. The comedy artists have also been used badly in the film.
Ravichandran's musical score elevates the technical values of the film as much as Seetharam's camerawork. Two songs - the first one on Namitha and the duet have been choreographed well.
On the whole Neelakanta is a time pass film and is certainly a treat for Ravichandran's fans.
