ಗಿರೀಶ್ ರಾವ್ ರವರ ’ಜೋಗಿ ಕತೆಗಳು’ - ಒ೦ದು ನೋಟ

ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಪ್ರಪ೦ಚಕ್ಕೆ ’ಜೋಗಿ’ ಎ೦ದೇ ಪರಿಚಿತರಾಗಿರುವ ಕನ್ನಡ ಪ್ರಭ ದಿನಪತ್ರಿಕೆಯ ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತರಾದ ಗಿರೀಶ್ ರಾವ್ ರವರ ಕಥಾ ಸ೦ಕಲನ - ’ಜೋಗಿ ಕತೆಗಳು’, ಈ ಲೇಖನದ ವಿಷಯ. ಹೊಸ ಪೀಳಿಗೆಯ ಕತೆಗಾರರಾದ ಜೋಗಿಯವರ ಕತೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಭಿನ್ನತೆ ಇದೆ. ತಮ್ಮ ಕತೆಗಳ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಾಡಿನ ಹೆಸರಾ೦ತ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಎಳೆದು ತರುತ್ತಾರೆ - ಗೊರೂರು ರಾಮಸ್ವಾಮಿ ಅಯ್ಯ೦ಗಾರರು, ಗಳಗನಾಥರು ಹೀಗೆ ಹಲವರು. ಕತೆಯನ್ನು ಸೊಗಸಾಗಿ ಹೆಣೆದು ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಅ೦ತ್ಯವನ್ನು ಓದುಗರ ಭಾವಕ್ಕೆ ಬಿಡುವುದು ಮೊದಲ ಕೆಲವು ಕತೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇಷ್ಟವಾದರೂ ಕೊನೆಯ ಕತೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒ೦ದೇ ಥರ ಎನ್ನಿಸಿ ಬಿಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಕತೆಗಳ ವಸ್ತು ಪ್ರತಿಯೊ೦ದರಲ್ಲೂ ವಿಭಿನ್ನ - ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಹಳ್ಳಿ ಪರಿಸರದ ಕತೆಯಿದ್ದರೆ ಇನ್ನೊ೦ದೆಡೆ ನಗರ ಜೀವನದ ಕತೆಯಿದೆ. ಕೆಲ ಕಡೆ ಬರೀ ಒ೦ದು ಪಾತ್ರವೇ ಮುಖ್ಯವಾದರೆ ಇನ್ನು ಕೆಲವೆಡೆ ಅದರ ತದ್ವಿರುದ್ಧ. ಕತೆಗಳ ಕೆಲ ಸಾಲುಗಳು ಹೊಸ ಪ್ರಯೋಗಗಳೆನಿಸುತ್ತವೆ. ತಮ್ಮ ಈ ಪುಸ್ತಕವು ’ನಲುವತ್ತೆರಡು ವರುಷಗಳಿ೦ದ ಒಬ್ಬರನ್ನೊಬ್ಬರು ನ೦ಬಿಸಲು ಶತಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಪಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೂ ಇನ್ನೂ ನ೦ಬಿಕೆ ಹುಟ್ಟಿಸಲಾಗದ ದೇವರಿಗೆ’ ಅರ್ಪಣೆ ಎ೦ದಿರುವ ಜೋಗಿಯವರು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಆಸ್ತಿಕತೆ ಮತ್ತು ನಾಸ್ತಿಕತೆಯ ತೊಳಲಾಟದ ಎರಡು ಕತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಓದುಗರ ಮು೦ದಿರಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಸ್ನೇಹ, ಪ್ರೀತಿ, ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ-ಸ೦ಗೀತ ಪ್ರೇಮ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕೂಡ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕತೆಗಳಿವೆ. ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಸ೦ಗ್ರಹಕ್ಕೆ ಈ ಪುಸ್ತಕವೂ ಒ೦ದು ಉತ್ತಮ ಆಯ್ಕೆ.

ರವೀಶ

Moggina Manasu - An Offbeat Movie

Moggina Manasu, is the story of 4 teenage girls and their confusions in their tender age. These 4 girls provide 4 different perceptions of love. Chanchala(Radhika Pandit), true to her name is always in confusion about love. Renu(Shubha Poonja), who comes from a village background is very innocent about love. Other two girls are two different poles with one using her boy friend as an ATM Card and the other like an LIC policy! Film begins with Chanchala going down the memory lane about her college days - first day in college, ragging and friends. Though juniors Chanchala and Renu are subjected to ragging initially by two of their seniors, 4 girls become best of friends. As the company, so are the habits. So, Chanchala and Renu are in search for boyfriends like their senior counterparts. The girls are not able to differentiate between infatuation and love - like Chanchala is about give love letter to her English lecturer! Innocent Renu falls in for Aakash but Chanchala takes her time to choose her love. Story takes different twists in each of the four girls' lives. In the end, film's message becomes clear - dont falter in the emotional upheavals of teenage. Wait for your true love to discover yourself. Though film contains some predictable sequences that does not seem boring. Also, comedy runs as a set of seperate sequences, away from the main story line with comedian Sharan providing the comic relief.Shubha Poonja's innocent character wins the hearts of the audience and so is the confused character Chanchala played by Radhika Pandit. Disha, who is a rebellious daughter also steals the show. Male leads, all freshers, do not have much scope to showcase their talent. Out of the bunch, Radhika's love interest, Yash gives a good performance.

Camera work is good but when it comes to special graphic effects, score is below average. Some of the graphic effects are not given their due and could have been best avoided. Background score by Manomurthy has mesmerising effects. Music of the movie is good. But movie contains an overdose of melodious songs, of which two could have been avoided. Nooraaru Preethi Maathu Nooraru Saari Aadi sung by Sonu Nigam, Moggina Manasali and Male Baruva Haagide both sung by Shreya Ghosal stays in memory. Interestingly Kumar Sanu has sung one song - Om Namaha Om for the movie. Teenage Teenage is a typical youth song, lyrics penned by director Shashank.

Major portion of the film was shot in coastal Karnataka including Mangalore, Kasaragod and Karwar. Welcome break from the usual shooting locations for Kannada films. Panambur beach in Mangalore, Bekal Fort beach and Ananthapura temple in Kasaragod are beautifully shot. MG Road, Bharath Mall in Mangalore also form the locations for several scenes.

Most of our films are love stories. Everything falls in place for love is the gist in every such movie. But that rarely happens. Very few filmmakers have dared to explore the topic of adolescent age and its sensitivities. Kudos to E Krishnappa for choosing such a subject in Moggina Manasu, with fresh faces, after the blockbuster, Mungaaru Male, a tragic love story. Director Shashank also deserves credit for handling such a sensitive subject well.

Regards
Raveesh

Psycho Kannada Movie's Music - A Class Apart

Psycho may be a weird title for a film. That deterred me initially to listen to the songs of Psycho, a Kannada film. But well, when the one of the songs from the movie, ‘Ninna Poojege Bande Mahadeshwara’, became popular and was frequently played in FM channels in Bangalore, it caught my attention. When I listened to all the songs from this movie, I was surprised at all songs being too good, as it is a rarity nowadays. The album seems like a perfect combination of lyrics and music in all the songs.

Psycho is mostly a newcomers’ venture – with Devadatta directing the movie for the first time and Raghu Dixit giving the tunes and lending his voice to few of the songs. But on the lyrics front, it is the veterans of the industry who have penned their thoughts and emotions. Jayanth Kaykini, top Kannada lyricist now, has wrote 3 songs for the movie – Beladingalante Minu Minuguta, Eno Ide Ee Preethili Eno Ide, Preetiya Manashantiya Siri Honnina Naadidu. R N Jayagopal, one of the famous Kannada lyricists, who passed away recently, has also written a song for the movie – Mussanje Rangalli. Lyrics of the most famous song of the movie, Ninna Poojege Bande Mahadeshwara is penned by V Manohar and Raghu Dixit.A Class Apart : Psycho marks Raghu Dixit’s debut as music director in Sandalwood and it has been rocking. Ee Thanuvu Ninnade Ninnane is composed on western tunes and haunts you after you listen to it. On the contrary, Mussanje Rangalli is on Indian classical tunes and Saindhavi singing the song – perfect match! Beladingalanthe Minu Minugutha is a slow, melodious track. Eno Ide is a sad song echoing the emotions of a dejected lover. Preetiya Manashantiya is a song describing the greatness of Karnataka. Most songs about Karnataka or Karunaadu in the past emphasized more on the past glory and were fast tracks. Here, this song does not focus on the past glory but on the common man of Karnataka and melody of the song reverberates in your mind for a long time.

Here are some of my favourite lines from the songs of the movie
Preetiya Manashantiya – kadalina male madilina bisi bayalina thavaridu, bevara hanigaLu vividha danigaLu eLeyuva theridu, jnanada parijnanada hambala, chigurige berina bembala, mamatheya samatheya angala (Karnataka is a region of sea, forests and plain lands, It is a cart pulled by hard working people coming from various backgrounds, people seek knowledge and wisdom, youth is supported by the elders, It is a land of affection and equality )
Mussanje Rangalli – banalli santhoshadi haaridda bellakkiya iralilla yava beli, nee preeti maathaadutha bale beesi naa sikkide hosa prema savi jaagadalli( I was a like free bird flying in the sky and had no hurdles, you caught me in the net in a new place with your nice, lovable talk)
Baladingalante – kantumba ninna anda saviyutta koorale, kandiddu nijave antha muththittu nodale(should I just enjoy seeing your beauty or should I kiss you to confirm whether it is true) naanendu nodadantha beLakondu moodide, ninagashTe keLuvante manasindu haadide (I am seeing a never seen light and my heart is singing lightly for just you to listen)
Eno Ide – BaaLina deepave indu aari hogide, nannaya neraLe nanna bitttu hogide, jeevana allola kallola vaagide, kareyuva koraLe mouna thaalide (light of my life is gone, my shadow has left me, my life has become a mess, voice which used to call me has gone silent)

Of course, not much to tell about Ninna Poojege Bande Mahadeshwara, as you would have already heard, read enough about this song. Film has already generated curiousity among the movie buffs. Cast of the film is not disclosed yet. Trailor of the movie looks impressive. I am eagerly waiting for the movie to be released. Are you?

Regards
Raveesh

To listen to the songs of the Kannada movie, Psycho click here.

ನಾ ಬರೆದ ಹನಿಗವನಗಳು - ಭಾಗ ೨

ಮಾತು
ದಿನವು ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೋ ಹರಿವ ನನ್ನ ಮಾತು
ಆ ಕ್ಷಣ ಕೊಡಲಿಲ್ಲ ನನ್ನ ಸಾಥು
ಹೋಗಲಿ ಬರಬಾರದಿತ್ತೆ ಯಾವುದಾದರೊ೦ದು ಗಾದೆ ಮಾತು
ಸ೦ಕಷ್ಟದ ವೇಳೆ ಬೀಳುವೆವು ಹಿರಿಯರ ಮಾತಿಗೆ ಜೋತು

ಎಚ್ಚೆತ್ತ ಬುದ್ಧಿ
ಉಳಿವಿಗೆ ಬ೦ದಾಗ ಆಪತ್ತು
ಮಾಡುವೆವು ನಾವು ಕಸರತ್ತು
ಕತ್ತಿಗೆ ಬ೦ದಾಗ ಕುತ್ತು
ಓಡುವುದು ಬುದ್ಧಿ ಎಚ್ಚೆತ್ತು

- ರವೀಶ

Aa Dinagalu - Film Review

Numerous movies have come in Kannada based on Bangalore underworld and very few have depicted the real face of it. Most of the underworld movies have glorified violence but Aa Dinagalu is an exception. K M Chaitanya, the director of the movie has handled the story based on real incidents well.

Film is based on the book ‘Dadagiriya Dinagalu’ by Agni Shridhar based on real life incidents in the year 1986 in Bangalore. Movie revolves around the love story on the back drop of underworld. Chetan and Mallika are in love but Chetan’s father, a business man do not approve of it. He takes the help of the then underworld don, Kotwal Ramachandra to separate the love birds. Chetan then befriends Shridhar and Bachchan and goes to Kotwal’s rival Jairaj to counter Kotwal. How a businessman’s son brings an end to Kotwal’s reign in Bangalore is rest of the story.
The things which capture the viewers’ attention are the brilliant screenplay, excellent narration and crisp dialogues. H C Venu’s camera work adds to the film’s highlights too. Also, brilliant performances by Sharath Lohitashwa(as Kotwal), Ashish Vidyarthi(as Jairaj), Atul Kulkarni – yes, the same Ramaprasad Bismil of Rang De Basanthi (as Shridhar). All in all this film is worth watching. Don’t get dismayed by the fact that the film is based on underworld. Though based on underworld, there is no glorification of violence and rowdies. On the contrary, this film explores the fears, superstitions, thoughts of underworld dons. There is a scene in the movie when Shridhar says the violence should not go into one’s heart. Kotwal, who is a terrifying figure to the outside world, has his own superstitions of bad omens when leaving from house. Underworld dons in this movie think of the consequences before taking any drastic step. It seems like there was conscious effort by the team to bring the Bangalore of the 80s in the movie. No cell phones, No posh cars – Chaithanya has taken the details into account. Heroine of the movie, Archana is a new face in Gandhinagar and has the refreshing look. Chetan’s debut into Kannada films promises much more for the Kannada cinema in the future. Jnaan Peetha Awardee, Girish Karnad has played the role of Chetan’s father.

There is no second talk about the background score by Ilayaraja, the genius. Film contains 2 songs – Sihi Gaali and Aa Dinagalu, for both lyrics and music are superb. One of the songs Sihi Gaali is sung by Ilayaraja himself! Film had a good box office run and was featured in the top 10 Indian movies by the weekly, The Week.

Can Kannada Cinema be the ambassador for the language?

This question has been in mind for quite some time now. There have been lots of debates on the issue of language. I was thinking how Hindi as a language has spread all over India. I don’t think all who speak Hindi will be well versed in reading and writing the language. But that does not stop anybody to start conversing in Hindi in almost any part of India. What is the ingredient then for largest speaking language in India to find its foothold? Yes, here I am talking of the Hindi cinema or Bollywood which has played a larger role in spreading the language. Though learning Hindi as third language in schools in most states has helped its cause to some extent, it is the charisma of Hindi films which make it easy for any person to learn and speak the language. That applies partly to other language movies like Tamil or Telugu cinema; at least they have a greater presence in South India if not in North India. I still remember how I got introduced to Tamil when I was in Mangalore; it was through the song Chiku buku raile song from the movie Gentleman. Kaadalan, Roja, Bombay were next in line to cast their spell. People also say they learn the language by watching movies.

Questions Unanswered: Here are few questions for Kannada cinema to ponder upon – how many times have been there instances of Kannada films being released out side the state, if not outside the country. For example, you will find very few films being screened in Kasaragod district of Kerala, with sizeable Kannada and Tulu population. Few films are released there after they become blockbusters like Yajamaana, Mungaaru Male. Big cities like Mumbai, Pune and Chennai too have good number of Kannadigas and what about border districts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu where Kannada is spoken. Why can’t we screen our films there? In Bangalore, a cosmopolitan city, there are shows of 6 different language films everyday. Can’t we screen Kannada movies in places where there is a significant presence of Kannadigas? Tamil and Telugu films travel to places where there is little presence of Tamilians, Telugus or not even that. Marketing would have made sure that it reaches places unheard of in mainstream media. Can we have the same marketing for namma Kannada films too?Script and the language: Echoing what Prakash Belavadi, well known director of ‘Stumble’, English and Kannada plays said in a seminar organized by Kannadasaahithya.com, we Kannadigas are lot more emotional about the script we follow. He said we are giving importance to lipi(script) rather than nudi(language), which is the reality too. Have you observed that Hindi ad punch lines are always written English? Bollywood movies in late 90s followed this trend of putting everything from film name to ‘the end’ message in English and that is not without reason too, as most of the movie goers could read English, so it was easy to understand. Can we have the similar thing for Kannada cinema? Along with the name in Kannada script can we have it written in English too, so non-Kannadigas too able to read the title, in turn learn a few Kannada phrases! Interestingly we find most of the times, captions after the film title in all English! Big hoardings in Bangalore now have Kannada written in English sometimes. If only they could be more meaningful it would serve the purpose. I am making it clear that it is not to replace the beautiful Kannada script but it is a temporary solution to ‘don’t know Kannada’ problem.

Recent Developments: Few days back, I was asked by one of my non-Kannadiga colleagues to translate ‘Ninnindale’ song from the movie,‘Milana’ to English. Good things are always appreciated devoid of language barriers. ‘Beduvanu Varavannu’ from 'Jogi',’Anisuthido Yaako Indu’ from ‘Mungaaru Male’ and most recently ‘Jinke Marina’ from ‘Nanda loves Nanditha’ was liked by every Bangalorean no matter whether he was a Kannadiga or not. Well, FM stations sudden rush to play Kannada songs also played its part here. Having said all that we have to make more good movies and market lesser popular but technically good movies, one Mungaaru Male or one Duniya is not enough to make a huge difference. Firstly filmmakers have to come out of their Bangalore centered approach while making films. There should be good marketing strategies to explore new markets and in turn spreading the language of the land.

Passing Note: Well known faces in film world like Maniratnam, Anil Kapoor(debut as director and hero respectively in Pallavi Anupallavi) and Juhi Chawla (debut in Premaloka) started their film careers in Kannada cinema.

Regards
Raveesh

This article also got published on Churumuri