Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Aug 4 : 'Dabak Dabaa Aisa' is perhaps the most curiously awaited movie in the history of Coastalwood, with its producer-cum-director Prakash Pandeshwar having had an uphill task in matching the expectations of Tulu movie lovers after the 500-day success of his first movie 'Chaali Polilu'. Moreover, only a few days back, the news of the movie 'leaking' totally devastated the producer and the crew, giving them nervous moments in the days leading up to its scheduled release on Friday August 5.
On Thursday August 4, the movie was premiered for invitees at Cinepolis brought in a big sigh of relief for the crew and cast, as everyone who attended gave a big thumbs-up to the movie.
The Tulu threatre-cum-cinema greats Devdas Kapikad, Navin D Padil, Bojaraj Vamanjoor, Arvind Bolar and Sundar Rai Mandara dominate the entire movie with superb comedy and their extraordinary acting skills. Navin Padil is the pick of the artistes in the entire movie, not only because he plays the lead role with elan, but also because the innocence of his character shines through and captivates the audience throughout the movie. His every move proves why he is regarded as one of the most supremely gifted artistes in Coastalwood.
Padil is supported by the movie's female lead, a newcomer, the young and talented Sheetal Naik who is a third year degree student at Canara College. Though she has limited scenes, she has done her best to match her performance with the veteran actors.
The film tells a simple story, beautifully narrated by Pandeshwar. After the success of 'Chaali Polilu', Pandeshwar has now forayed into the director's role. In his first attempt as director he has excelled, with the entire movie sailing through smoothly without giving any scope for boredom. The outcome is not less than any Malayalam or Tamil movie in terms of the art of filmmaking. He has used various locations within Dakshina Kannada, and done total justice to the story by selecting pictaresque places around Mangaluru.
Interestingly, all four actors have been given their real names in the reel also - Devu, Naveen, Boja and Arvind.
Music by Rajesh is mindblowing. 'Heart da bus' has already become a big hit in and around Tulunadu, with many choosing the song as their mobile ringtones. The Naveen - Sheetal duo has done justice to the dance sequences too.
Coming to the plot, 40-year-old Naveen is struggling to get a girl to marry, when he falls in love with Shubha (Sheetal) who is much younger to him. It is not only age, but in terms of status too, Shubha has a far superior place than Naveen who is a bus conductor. The one-way love takes a dramatic turn at the end. The director has succeeded in gripping the audience's attention till the climax and after.
Full marks to clean comedy as there is enough to laugh with all the witty dialogues, actions and perfect comic timing by the four stars.
In terms of technical qualities, the movie is far superior to some of the recent Tulu movies. The camera work by Utpal Nayanar and editing by Sunil are noteworthy.
There is no doubt that the movie 'Dabak Dabaa Aisa' will run beyong 100 days. It is once again proved that without the big comedy names of the Tulu theatre industry, it will be an extremely difficult task for the young and the old to bring out a widely accepted movie.
This movie is a total family entertainer, with a good moral lesson at the end, impressive music, superior dialogues, heart-touching emotional scenes by Naveen and comedy par excellence, all of which make 'Dabak Dabaa Aisa' a total 'paisa wasool'.
Jayairana Film's Prakash Pandeshwar will surely go for another blockbuster after two back-to-back successful ventures.
4.5 stars out 5 will be a fair rating for this movie.