'Onkaara' has a large canvas

Movie Review ; Language: Kannada

Film: Onkaara. Cast: Upendra, Preeti Jhangiani, Shwetha Menon, Rahul Dev, Rangaayana Raghu, Geetha Suryavamshi. Producer: Kanakapura Srinivas, Director: Shivamani, Dialogue: Nanjunda, Music: Guru Kiran

"Onkaara" is a film made on a large canvas and can be compared to any non-Kannada film in terms of richness and presentation.

The film has excellent production values, a big-star cast and all the commercial ingredients in right proportion to make it an attractive proposition for today's youngsters.

The story reminds the viewer of Bollywood hit "Tehzab" at many points.

The film's main appeal is not just visual. Director Shivamani, known for his brilliant shot compositions, has worked hard, especially on lighting. The stunt sequences too are executed well.

Guru Kiran's music, particularly the background score, is as good as in "Aaptha Mithra" and "Abhi". On the lips of all Upendra fans are the two catchiest songs "Oththla, Oththla" and "Sootu Bootu".

The story is about a victim of circumstances becoming an underworld functionary. He comes across a film actress, exploited by her own father and a gang of hoodlums. He rescues the damsel in distress and the two fall in love.

Then follows an inevitable misunderstanding. The story approaches its climax when the father becomes the target of an underworld don. The rest need not be revealed here. But the flashback, showing why the hero went into the underworld, need not have been so long.

Upendra excels in the role and his delivery of the lines is once again superb. His dialogues have been a major attraction in all his films and "Omkaara" is no exception.

In fact, Upendra carries the whole film on his shoulder. Preeti Jhangiani has many sequences to showcase her talent and she does so in some. Shwetha Menon is glamorous. Bollywood actor Rahul Dev is a good choice for the role, but Rangayana Raghu could have done better.

"Omkaara" is a team effort, but the audiences would come out of the theatres with the impression it is a one-man show.