Florine Roche
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Dec 12: Tulu film industry is going through its golden period with regular new releases and new films getting launched quite often. The latest Tulu film 'Panoda Bodcha', released on November 18 is a landmark because it marks Tulu film industry’s 75th film.
The film lives up to its landmark status, being a complete family entertainer raising Tulu film industry’s stature a notch higher. Interestingly this family drama stars most of the present leading stalwarts of Tulu films such as Shivadhwaj, Naveen D Padil, Aravind Bolar, Bhojaraj Vamanjoor, Kishore Shetty and cinema and TV actors Vinaya Prasad and Seetha Kote among others.
The movie directed by first-time director Madhu Surathkal revolves around a rural family setting. The main protagonist of the film is 'Raganna' (Shivadhvaj) a kind-hearted soul who is known for his helping nature and free service to the society. His father is a retired post master (Yogesh Achar) who lives with his wife Laxmi (Seetha Kote) and three children including Raganna. The postmaster is known for his sincerity and clean image. On the contrary, Raganna often runs into debts due to his ‘service’ of helping others in distress and is saved by his father. Raganna even lands up in jail when he gets cheated by a villain but he is saved by his father who uses his pension money to release him.
Then enters Chethu, the villain (Harish Rai) who tries to exploit an awkward situation faced by the family and this creates quite a misunderstanding among the family members. His father finally forces Raganna to leave the house following this trust deficit and then following some unforeseen developments his father reveals him a secret which puts Raganna in dilemma. The dilemma stems from the fact that his father did not want his wife Laxmi to know about it and Raganna had to somehow fulfil the solemn promise he had given to his father at his death bed. He is in tight spot not knowing whether to tell the actual truth in the face of adversity or face it till the end (panoda bodcha). How Raganna is able to face or manage the complex situation forms the rest of the story.
The film comes as a ‘pleasant surprise’ being different as compared to some of the recently released Tulu films. It moves away from the shadow of Tulu Drama kind of image, a baggage carried by most Tulu films, to emerge as a film like that of any other language movie with its own elements of surprises.
The movie is said to be a remake of Malayalam film starring Mohanlal and Shivadhvaj does a brilliant job of essaying the role played by Mohanlal in the original film. As a middle-aged hero with young kids Shivadhwaj who won national award for his Tulu Film Guguuru in 2010, stands out with his eximious performance. As a man torn between his commitment towards the family and the one who shoulders the burden of safeguarding his father’s clean image Shivadhavaj has done a magnificent job.
Performance wise, once again Navin D Padil demonstrates why he is a versatile actor in Tulu film industry who can sneak into any role with aplomb. Once again he gets to perform a unique role giving him ample opportunity showcaseshis acting prowess. His dialogue delivery and body language as an old man suffering from asthma, is quite convincing. Aravind Bolar and Bhojaraj Vamanjoor bring the much needed comedy element into the movie.
The highlight of the movie is the camera brilliant camera work of cinematographer Santhosh Rai Pathaje who has succeeded in capturing the immaculate beauty of Tulunadu and it’s surroundings using his dragon camera. The movie which is shot in Uppinangady, B C Road, Bantwal, Kalladka, Karijneshawara Temple lake near Vagga and Mangalore has successfully captured the beautiful landscape of Mangalore.
Music by Chandrakanth Shetty is quite good melodious and the item song ‘Adik Chakkanna’ tune is catchy. The dubbing of the movie is done at Daijiworld Audio Visual Studio in Mangalore and the good work reflects in the final product. The successful dubbing of this film locally is sure to inspire other producers to dub in this studio in Manglaore for their future productions.
This film cab is enjoyed best in a multiplex to get the real feel of the cinematography and the sound effect. On the whole, it is a wholesome family entertainer dealing with the vital aspects of family values.