Varsha

Cast: Vishnuvardhan, Manya, Ramesh Arvind, Anu Prabhakar, Doddanna, Sreenivasa Murthy, Shobharaj, Lakshman, Komal
Direction: S.Narayan
Production: Rockline Venkatesh
Music: S.A.Raj Kumar

Producer Rockline Venkatesh and Director S.Narayan had promised that their new venture "Varsha" will be a treat to watch for the Vishnuvardhan fans.

They have kept up their promise and the well made film will certainly prove to be a worth watcher for Vishnu's fans and his large following of the female audience who want to see him in emotional roles.

Director S.Narayan who has taken the additional responsibility of writing the lyrics and dialogues of the film has recreated the magic he had done previously in the four films he has worked with the Kannada Super Star.

The Vishnu and S.Narayan combination has delivered great results in the box office. The saga started with the hit film "Veerappa Naayaka" which had a patriotic flavor as the main focus. The mantra was followed in two silver jubilee hits- "Suryavamsha" and "Simhaadhriya Simha". Another hit film of this combination is "Jameendhaarru" in which Vishnu had acted in dual role "Varsha" does not belie the expectations it had raised before its release and will prove to be a continuous saga of a fruitful combination.

Thankfully "Varsha" has all the commercial ingredients in right proportion. All the sequences in the film with ingredients like emotions, comedy, action are quite touching and entertaining.

"Varsha" is the remake of Malayalam Hit "Hitler" which had Mammootty and Shobhana in the lead. Later Telugu Super Star Chiranjeevi acted in the film's Telugu remake to revive his then flagging career. The movie has been remade in Hindi and Tamil without success mainly due to bad casting and pedestrian narration. "Varsha" is the fifth version of the same story, but still manages to work well because of good production values, technical expertise and a neat performance by all the artists. S.Narayan makes some changes from the original, but it fits well with the present day trend of narration.

"Varsha" is as much a Narayan film as it is a Vishnuvardhan film. The casting for this film is perfect. The sisters look fresh on the screen, but they have played their parts to perfection. All of them are trained tele artists, except Anu Prabhakar who is an established heroine in the Kannada film industry. S.Narayan has presented his hero quite differently in this film. The hero of the film is presented not as just a short tempered human being but as a possessive and protective brother of five sisters and other two sisters born out of the wedlock of his father and his second wife. .

The film is a healthy mix of comedy, sentiment and action sequences. While Vishnuvardhan proves his mettle in emotional and action sequences, the comedy portion has worked out well because of talented artists like Ramesh, Komal, and Tennis Krishna. .

Vishnuvardhan comes out best in portraying the emotions in the film. The action sequences in the film will certainly please his fans. Multilingual actress Maanya has proved her merit as a tomboyish girl who is in love with Vishnuvardhan.

Ramesh and Komal make a good combination and the film will be a big boost to their careers. All other artists including Sreenivaasa Murthy, Anu Prabhakar, Shwetha Chengappa, Ramesh Bhat and Doddanna have given their best.

Music Director S.A.Raj Kumar has done well in composing melodious songs and his re recoding job for the film is excellent. Cameraman P.K.H.Doss and editor Soundar Rajan have once again proved their mettle. "Vasanthi Vasanthi", "Ikku Maga" and "Kanneerige Kanneereke"

Mast Maja Maadi - Vijay Raghavendra, Diganth Hit Movie

Film: “Mast Maja Maadi”; Director: Anantha Raju; Cast: Sudeep, Jennifer, Vijaya Raghavendra, Diganth, Komal, Nag Kiran, Rangayaana Raghu and Umashree; Music: Balajee; Rating: ** “Mast Maja Maadi” is another remake that joins the long list of this year’s Kannada film releases. It is essentially a rehash of 2007 Hindi film “Dhamaal” made by director Indra Kumar.

Though “Dhamaal” was a senseless slapstick comedy, it was enjoyable because of its one liners and brilliant performances by the actors. Unfortunately in the Kannada version, the dialogues lack the much-needed punch and the narration is weakened by slipshod editing and pedestrian re-recording.

The film has many funny moments and the song picturised in Bangkok is really good. The sequences where the four protagonists, who were thick friends, quarrel with each other in their attempts to get the booty stand out.

Coming to the negative points, the performances of the artists in the film are uneven. Sudeep shows total disinterest in his role, while actors like Diganth and Nag Kiran don’t do a great job. Even seasoned artists like Sadhu Kokila, Rangayana Raghu fail to enliven the film.

The much-hyped special item song featuring Upendra and 12 heroines enthuses the audience in the beginning, but falls flat by the end because it is badly picturised.

“Mast Maja Maadi” is the story of four good-for-nothing, unemployed youngsters in search of treasure hidden in a place in Ooty’s Botanical Gardens. Apart from them, a cop is also eyeing the treasure. The youngsters’ attempts to get the treasure all to themselves and the hurdles they face in their mission form the crux of the story.

Vijaya Raghavendra and Komal have shown better comedy timing in the film and they act well. Surprisingly, a better performer like Sudeep looks too subdued and his disinterest in the movie becomes apparent in many sequences. Rangayana Raghu overacts and veteran comedy artists like Sadhu Kokila and Umashri have very little to do in the film.

The title song and the number “Chori Chori” are catchy, but music director Balaji should have been better in his re-recording work. M.R. Seenu’s camera work is ordinary.

“Mast Maja Maadi” has some enjoyable moments, but it could have been better handled better by the director.