Disappointing 'Ramakrishna' made for yesteryear audience

Movie Review

Film: "Ramakrishna"; Director: Sai Prakash; Producer: Balu Muthayya; Cast: Ravichandran, Jaggesh, Laila, Kalyani (Kaveri), Sadhukokila, Doddanna and Sreenivasa Murthy. Music: S.A. Raj Kumar.

"Ramakrishna" had raised great expectations, especially because of the wonderful combination of Ravichandran and Jaggesh who struck gold a few years ago in "Gadibidi Aliya", a silver jubilee hit.

Director Sai Prakash, however, has let the audience down by failing to make use of the full potential of a galaxy of stars.

The stars include talented heroines like Laila and Kalyani, who has been making waves recently in Telugu films. Kalyani, better known in Kannada film circles as Kaveri, had acted in the Kannada film "Sambhrama" and "Kuhu Kuhu" earlier.

"Ramakrishna" is the remake of Tamil film "Aan Paavam", which was directed by Pandya Rajan and released over 15 years ago. The film was fresh and had narrative appeal, but much water has flowed since then.

Rather than make some inevitable changes to suit the tastes of the present day audience, Sai Prakash has sadly followed the narrative of an original Tamil film faithfully.

The comedy sub-track in the film featuring Sadhu Kokila is just a rehash of several sequences in Tamil comedian Vadivelu's recent films. This proves that the director lacks originality.

The story is about two spoilt sons of an authoritative father who wants them to marry the girls chosen by him. In a twist of destiny, the elder of the two, Ravichandran, goes out to see a girl and falls in love with her.

But it transpires that the girl was not the one short-listed by his father. Ravichandran continues to love Kalyani. Finally, after much drama, the lovers get united.

The presence of superstar Ravichandran does not in any way help the film, as he has not been presented properly. Even his hardcore fans may not like the way the film has shaped up.

Jaggesh who has acted as his brother is good as a playful spoilt youth, but fails to come alive in sentimental sequences. Though his antics evoke some laughter, the pedestrian dialogues have limited the impact.

Laila, whose talents were fully exploited in films like "Pithamagan", looks completely out of focus. Though Kaveri has a big role in the film, she fails to make any impact. Doddanna and Sreenivasa Murthy are just passable.

S.A. Raj Kumar's music is a big letdown, as expectations were high after the music maestro's previous Kannada film "Chandra Chakori". Shoddy editing has also proved to be a big handicap.

"Ramakrishna", which has been released just around the time when Ravichandran's previous film "Malla" is completing a hundred day run, is certainly a big disappointment.