Starring : Puneet Rajkumar , Priyamani , Nidhi Subbaiah , Jackie Shroff, Rangayana Raghu

Music : V Harikrishna

Running time : 2 hour 20 Minutes

C.B.F.C Rating : UA

Genre :  Action Action and Action

         Rating : 5.5/10

HOW IS IT..?

WHATS IT ABOUT..

The film is all about a social servant of a different kind. The nature of Bond Ravi (Puneeth Rajakumar) is to help others. From the beginning till end he goes on doing like that and that encounter many hurdles. Working in the indigenously prepared medical camp of Singapore Chandrappa the well built Bond Ravi is a Karate expert. One day he sees Meera (Priyamani) in a bus and fall in love to her charm. Meera comes to the same village where Bond Ravi is staying with her friend Divya (Nidhi Subbaiah) for a documentary film making.

At this place the love further increases for Bond Ravi but the day Meera leaves the village tells him to make it big in life. From that statement he leaves the village with Rangayana Raghu but on the way he is taken by a military guy and the mistaken identity of Bond Ravi is known in the forest. He has come there to treat the severe pain of Chandrakanth a former army official. It is at this place the sudden shoot out begins from Charlie (Jackie Shroff). Bond Ravi is very helpful to Chandrakanth at this place. Drug mafia and dreaded personality Charlie is looking for his daughter. Before Charlie run away from the counter attack of Bond Ravi in the house of Chandrakanth he knows that his daughter is with Chandrakanth.?

Rest of the movie, you can guess now itself..!!

Analysis..

Director Soori is enjoying the success of ‘Jackie’ and he has applied the same principles in ‘Anna Bond’ without showing much improvement. Give what the Puneeth Rajakumar fans require is his one point agenda. The brisk action that is mind blowing is not new to Puneeth Rajakumar films. In the story line Dhuniya Soori is not poles apart from ‘Jackie’ or his ‘Junglee’ earlier super hit films. Narrating the sensitive issues via a powerful actor like Puneeth Rajakumar was possible. He fails miserably.

The same old rugged places, gang of teenage lifters given drugs and transported in ‘Jackie’ is slightly different here in ‘Anna Bond’. The drug mafia and lifting of the youths for the fickle mindedness of drug mafia Charlie is added in this film.

The major drawback is weak screenplay. Suri, known for his interesting narration, fumbles heavily on this score. Dialogues bring in some laughter in the first half.

The proceedings in the first half are tolerable, but after that it is a combination of dragging elements and illogical sequences. It lacks continuity.

As for the things that stand out in the film, Ninasam Satish’s hilarious act surely deserves a mention.He does a fabulous job of mocking a Kannada film director who is known for his gimmicks.

The technical excellence is seen when the action scenes are fed to the eyes of the audience. Sathya Hegde has given very strong and absorbing scenes even in the song shooting also. The showcasing the action scenes are fabulous.

V Harikrishna in the music has mixed the melody and peppy tunes. Enendhu Hesaridali Yee Chandha Anubavakke….is the best melody and best peppy song of the film ‘Anna Bond’ is Thumba Nodbedi Lovvu Aithade….

The choreographer Imran Sardaria has proved that in the coming days he will be ‘Sardar’ of choreography. The steps he has given for Puneeth Rajakumar is admirable.

Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff, who plays a baddie in the film, doesn’t impress. His dubbing is not so good and his performance is ordinary.

The highlights are extraordinary action and song sequences and Puneet Raj Kumar’s dialogue delivery. All these done by Punith himself, he done a fab job.

Rangayana Raghu is exceptional as usual. Priyamani and Nidhi, who is at her chirpy best, make their presence felt.

Suri must have thought, “Oh boy, Its an action movie, look at that view, Lets make an action scene here, and there also..!!”, coz there are that much action scenes..! You will definitely get out of hall if you are not a Punith fan.

Bangnext says..

Strictly for Punith fans..!!

Even Suri fans, Don’t even bother..

Byari, the first film in the Beary language spoken in coastal Kannada, and Marathi film Deool shared the award for Best Feature Film. Byari is about how girls in the small Muslim Beary community are mistreated in the name of marriage and divorce. Through its female protagonist director Suveeran conveys the trauma of a woman who has to deal with unjust religious strictures.

Acclaimed actor Girish Kulkarni also won the Best Actor award for political drama Deool, which has featured in the major film festivals around the world. Deool is a satirical and penetrative account of the politics involved in the commercialization of religion in India. Kulkarni’s portrayal as a good-hearted simpleton who sets tumultuous events in motion won over the jury who described his performance as ingenious.

The winners were announced by chairpersons of the jury. The awards will be given to the winners in a ceremony on May 3. For feature films the names of the award winners were declared by actress Rohini Hattangady, who was the chairperson of the Feature Films Jury (Central Panel). Ramesh Sharma, the chairperson of the Non-Feature films jury and Vijaya Mulay, who chaired the jury on the Best Writing on Cinema announced the names of other award winners.

Traditionally, the National Awards keep the focus on regional films and the presence of Bollywood is limited to only a few select categories. This year ‘I Am’ won in the Best Hindi Film and Best Lyrics (Amitabh Bhattacharya) category. Director Anubhav Sinha’sRA.One won the award for Best Special Effects. Gurvinder Singh won Best Director for ‘Anhe Ghorey Da Daan’ (Alms of the blind horse), a low-budget Punjabi film that has won international laurels.

Appu Kutty won the Best Supporting Actor for the Tamil film ‘Azhagar Samiyin Kuthirai while Leishangthem Tonthoingambi Devi won the Best Supporting Actress award for Manipuri film Phijigee Mani. The Special Jury Award went to singer/director Anjan Dutta whose film Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona won the Best Bengali film.

‘Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona’ that stars Dutta, Amyt Datta, Lew Hilt and Nondon Bagchi, is the story of a Bangla-band and the making of a rockstar.

Stanley ka Dabba’s Partho Gupte, the son of director Amol Gupte, and the cast of the film Chillar Party won the Best Child Artist award while the Best Children’s Film went to Chillar Party. Another Bollywood win was the Best costume award for Neeta Lulla for the film ‘Bal Gandharva’ (Marathi) and Niharika Khan for ‘The Dirty Picture’ (Hindi). The Best Female Playback Singer went to Roopa Ganguly for Bengali film Abosheshey and the Best Male Playback Singer to Anand Bhate for Marathi film Bal Gandharva.

The Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment went to Tamil film Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai. Last year Salman Khan’s cop romp Dabangg had won in this category. Director Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ won the Best Audiography and Best Choreography awards. Neel Dutt won the Best Music Direction award for Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona while Mayookh Bhaumik won Best Background Score for Bengali film Laptop.

The National Film Awards, which were started as an annual incentive by the Government of India , for the making of artistic, competent and meaningful films have come a long way, to cover the entire national spectrum of Indian Cinema, to judge merit by the highest possible yardstick and to become the most coveted and prestigious award in the country.

Here is a list of the winners:

Feature Films

Best Feature Film: Shared by Deool (Marathi) and Byari (Byari)

Deool

Producer: Abhijeet Gholap

Director : Umesh VinayakKulkarni

Byari (Byari)

Producer: T.H. AlthafHussain

Director :Suveeran

SwarnaKamal: Rs.2,50,000/-

Indira Gandhi Award For Best Debut Film of a Director: Aaranyakandam (Tamil)

Producer:S.P.Charan

Director :Kumararaja Thiagarajan

SwarnaKamal: Rs.1,25,000/

Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment:AzhagarsamiyinKuthirai (Tamil)

Producer: P. Madan

Director :Suseentharan

SwarnaKamal: Rs.2,00,000/-

Best Children’s Film: Chillar Party(Hindi)

Producer: UTV Software Communications Ltd

Director : VikasBahl & Nitesh Tiwari

SwarnaKamal: Rs.1,50,000/-

Best Direction: GurvinderSingh for Anhe Ghorey Da Daan (Punjabi)

SwarnaKamal: Rs. 2,50,000/-

Best Actor: Girish Kulkarni for Deool (Marathi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs. 50,000/-

Best Actress: Vidya Balan for The Dirty Picture (Hindi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs. 50,000/-

Best Supporting Actress: Leishangthem Tonthoingambi Devi for Phijigee Mani(Manipuri)

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/-

Best Supporting Actor: Appu Kutty for Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai (Tamil)

Rajat Kamal: Rs. 50,000/-

Best Child Artist (Shared): Partho Gupte for Stanley ka Dabba (Hindi)

Irrfan Khan, Sanath Menon, Rohan Grover, Naman Jain, Aarav Khanna, Vishesh Tiwari, ChinmaiChandranshuh, Vedant Desai, Divij Handa and Shriya Sharma for Chillar Party(Hindi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/-

Best Male Playback Singer: Anand Bhate for Balgandharva(Marathi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/-

Best Female Playback Singer: RoopaGanguly for Abosheyshey (Bengali)

Rajat Kamal: Rs. 50,000/-

Best Cinematography: Anhe Ghorey DaDaan (Punjabi)

Cameraman: Satya RaiNagpaul

Laboratory: Reliance Media Works

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/-

Best Screenplay

Screenplay Writer (Original): Vikas Behl & Manish Tiwari for Chillar Party(Hindi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/-

Screenplay Writer (Adapted): Avinash Deshpande Nigdi for Shala (Marathi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/-

Dialogues: Girish Kulkarni for Deool (Marathi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/-

Best Audiography

Location Sound Recordist: Baylon Fonseca for Zindagi NaMilegi Dobara (Hindi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/-

Sound Designer: Baylon Fonseca for Game (Hindi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/-

Re-recordist of the final mixed track: Hitendra Ghosh for Game (Hindi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/-

Best Editing: Pravin KL for Aaranyakandam (Tamil)

Rajat Kamal: Rs. 50,000/-

Best Production Design: Indraneel Ghosh for Naukadubi (Bengali)

Rajat Kamal: Rs. 50,000/-

Best Costume Designer (Shared): Neeta Lulla for Balgandharva (Marathi)

Niharika Khan: The Dirty Picture (Hindi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs. 50,000/-

Best Make-Up Artist: VikramGayakwad for Balgandharva (Marathi) and The Dirty Picture (Hindi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs. 50,000/-

Best Music Direction

Songs: Neel Dutt for Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbo Na (Bengali)

Rajat Kamal: Rs. 50,000/-

Background Score: Mayookh Bhaumik for Laptop (Bengali)

Rajat Kamal: Rs. 50,000/-

Best Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya for ‘Agar Zindagi’ in I AM (Hindi)

Special Jury Award: Anjan Dutt for Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbo Na (Bengali)

Rajat Kamal: Rs. 50,000/-

Best Special Effects: Harry Hingorani and Keitan Yadav for Ra. One (Hindi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs. 50,000/-

Best Choreography: Bosco and Caeser for ‘Senorita’ from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (Hindi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs. 50,000/-

Best Feature Film In Each Of The Language Specified In The Schedule Viii Of The Constitution

Best Bengali Film: Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbo Na

Producer: Rana Sarkar

Director : AnjanDutt

Rajat Kamal: Rs.1,00,000/-

Best Dogri Film: Dille Ch Vasya Koi

Producer: Sanjeev Rattan

Director: Sanjeev Rattan

Rajat Kamal: Rs.1,00,000/-

Best Hindi Film: I AM

Producer: Anirban Dhar (Onir) & Sanjay Suri

Director : Onir

Rajat Kamal: Rs.1,00,000/-

Best Kannada film: Kurmavatara

Producer: Basant Kumar Patil

Director : Girish Kasaravalli

Rajat Kamal: Rs.1,00,000/-

Best Malayalam Film: Indian Rupee

Producer: August CinemaIndia Pvt. Ltd.

Director :RanjithBalakrishnan

Rajat Kamal: Rs.1,00,000/-

Best Manipuri Film: Phijigee Mani

Producer:Takhelchangbam Ongbi and Medha Sharmi

Director :Oinam GautamSingh

Rajat Kamal: Rs.1,00,000/-

Best Marathi Film: Shala

Producer: Vivek D. Wagh & NileshNavalkha

Director: Sujay SunilDahake

Rajat Kamal: Rs.1,00,000/-

Best Punjabi Film: Anhe Ghorey Da Daan

Producer: National Film Development Corporation

Director : Gurvinder Singh

Rajat Kamal: Rs.1,00,000/-

Best Tamil Film: Vaagai Sooda Va

Producer: S. Muruganandham

Director : A. Sargunam

Rajat Kamal: Rs.1,00,000/-

Special Mention

Byari (Byari): Mallika

Certificate only

Adimadhyantham( Malayalam)

Director : Sherry

Certificate only

Non-Feature Films

Best Non Feature Film: And We Play On (Hindi & English)

Producer: PramodPuRs.wane

Director: Pramod PuRs.wane

Swarna Kamal: Rs.1,50,000/- each

Best Debut Film Of A Director: The Silent Poet (Manipuri)

Producer: BorunThokchom

Director: Borun Thokchom

Rajat Kamal: Rs.75,000/- each

Best Anthropological/ Ethnographic Film: Bom (Hindi & English)

Producer: Anirban Datta

Director: Amlan Datta

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/- each

Best Biographical/ Historical Reconstruction: Vishnupant Damle: BolpatanchaMook Nayak (Marathi)

Producer: Anil Anant Damle

Director :Virendra Valsangkar

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/- each

Best Arts /Cultural Film (Jointly Being given to two Films): Fried Fish, Chicken Soup and a Premiere Show (Manipuri & English)

Producer: Madhusree Dutta

Director: Mamta Murthy

Lasya Kavvya – the World ofAlarmel Valli (English)

Producer: Sankalp Meshram

Director: SankalpMeshram

Rajat Kamal: Rs.25,000/- each

Best Promotional Film: The Dream Fulfilled – Memories of the Engineering Challenges (English)

Producer: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation

Director: Satish Pande

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/- each

Best Environment Film: Tiger Dynasty (English)

Producer: S.Nallamuthu

Director: S. Nallamuthu

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/- each

Best Film On Social Issues (Jointly Being given to two Films):

Mindscapes… of Love and Longing (Hindi & English)

Producer: Public Service Broadcasting Trust

Director: Arun Chadha

Inshallah, Football (Kashmiri, Urdu & English)

Producer: Ashvin Kumar

Director: Ashvin Kuma

Rajat Kamal: Rs.25,000/- each

Best Educational Film: A Drop of Sunshine (English)

Producer: Public Service Broadcasting Trust

Director: Aparna Sanyal

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/- each

Best Exploration/ Adventure Film (Including sports): The Finish Line (English)

Producer: Syed Sultan Ahmed & Tabassum Modi

Director: Akshay Roy

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/- each

Best Investigative Film: Cotton for My Shroud (English)

Producer: Kavita Bahl

Director: Nandan Saxena and Kavita Bahl

Rajat Kamal: Rs.50,000/- each

Special Jury Award: Anand Patwardhan for Jai BhimComrade (Marathi)

Rajat Kamal: Rs. 1,00,000/-

Best Film Critic: Manoj Barpujari (Assamese and English)

Best Book on Cinema: R.D. Burman The Man, The Music (English)

Publisher: Harper Collins India

Author: Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal

Swarna Kamal: Rs. 75,000

Movie – Chingari

Harsha’s third directorial venture, Chingari, is definitely an improvement over his last two outings — Geleya and Birugaali — thanks to big star Darshan’s presence in the movie.

Chingari is about human trafficking and the attempts of a lovelorn cop to win back his lady love emotionally and physically.

The film begins with Geetha (Deepika Kamaiah) blaming Dhanush (Darshan), a police officer, for her brother’s death. She then goes off on a holiday to Switzerland with her friend Amrutha to forget the incident.

In Switzerland, they come in contact with an Indian who speaks Kannada and seems to befriend the two girls, only to tip off his bosses about the new arrivals. Both girls go missing, but not before leaving clues for our hero cop.

Cut to flashback. Geetha falls in love with Dhanush, without knowing that he is a cop. Her brother is a drug addict though she doesn’t know this and when he is killed and she discovers that Dhanush is a cop, she mistakenly thinks that Dhanush has killed him.

Cut to present. Dhanush flies to Switzerland in search of his lady love. He meets an Italian girl (Bhavana) who speaks Kannada and with her help, he gets access to the den of the traffickers.

The rest of the movie is about how he manages to find and rescue Geetha from the clutches of the human trafficking mafia.

Darshan has been successfully transformed into a stylish cop sans the khaki uniform. We get only occasional glimpses of his old self that brought him all the fame, so Darshan’s fans may feel disappointed with this characterization.

Deepika Kamaiah, a Miss India South finalist and model (she featured in the famous Hero Honda Pleasure ad with Priyanka Chopra ) comes as a whiff of fresh air and does an adequate job for a newcomer.

The talented Bhavana has nothing much to do except one hot number. Maybe she agreed to do the role just to enjoy a good holiday in Switzerland.

The rest of the cast has nothing much to do: it’s a Darshan film all the way.

Venu’s camerawork is splendid and quite racy, especially in the chase and fight sequences. Yogananda has penned the dialogues. Music composer Harikrishna does not have much scope in a film like this. Harsha has also choreographed a few numbers, but has nothing new to offer.

Not much thought or time has been expended on establishing the characters. Although Darshan fans may feel a little let down because of his image makeover, the film is worth a viewing to see him in this new avatar.

The movie is quite racy and finishes quickly, leaving us little time to get bored. However, its portrayal of a serious issue such as human trafficking and flesh trade is superficial.

Technically, it is a sound film with good special and sound effects. Deepu Kumar has edited it quite well.

On the whole, the film is a good way of passing time.

Title : Arakshaka,
Cast: Upendra, Ragini, Sada, Seetha, Sayyaji Shindhe, Adhi Lokesh, Sharan, Rajesh, Vijayakashi, Rekha, Joe Simon and others.
Music: Gurukiran,
Cinematography: PKH Doss,
Producer: Krishna Prajwal,
Direction: P Vasu,
Review: 2.5/5

It is believed that superstar Upendra’s films are different – one cannot make a film with him by just adding a lot of commercial ingredients in the script and elements found in a mass hero film. Audience expect something different from Upendra and his recent release Aarakshaka, directed by Veteran director Vasu who had earlier delivered big hits Aaptha Mithra and Aaptha Rakshaka, lives up to their expectation.

Aarakshaka is a curiosity inducive film with intelligently written sequences and Vasu’s script impresses despite the fact that as a director he has not shown such consistency.

Though the film is heavily inspired by Hollywood hit Shutter Island, Vasu has given it a desi touch by adding comedy, songs, fights and emotions into the script.

Aarakshaka wins because the film keeps the audiences engaged. There is plenty of juggling between emotions and thrills in the script. Some interesting twists, mind boggling thrills and suspense will keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

The last 20 minutes is the best narrated part in the entire film.

Certainly Vasu has excelled in writing a totally out of the box script for the Kannada cinema. But Vasu failed to extract the best from the composer also, some comedy sequences do not gel with the film, and the first half drags.

The story is about Arun Kumar, a police officer, who has to find Stephen Raj, a witness to three murders. Arun suspects that Raj is hiding in a mental asylum as a fake patient and the doctors in the hospital are shielding him.

The hospital dean asks doctor Maya to assist Arun in solving the mystery of Stephen Raj. Whenever Arun tries to investigate Stephen Raj’s past, he reaches a dead end.

Meanwhile, he reveals his past to Maya and says Stephen Raj is responsible for his missing wife. During the course of his investigation, Arun spots his look alike in the hospital and wants to find out the real identity of his look alike. The entire secret behind Aun’s real identity is revealed in the climax as well as the mystery behind the three murders.

Upendra delivers a strong performance in both the roles he has played. His body language and mannerism are perfect. His dialogue delivery is another high point.

Raagini is good and Sada is also impressive.

Shahaji Shinde overacts, but Aadi Lokesh is impressesive. Seetha and Rajesh have played their respective roles aptly. Sharan’s comedy irritates, but he has been able to raise a few laughs in some sequences.

P.K.H. Doss’ camera work is exceptionally good. His superb craft can be seen by the way he has shot some visually spectacular outdoor scenes in Kerala. Music director Guru Kiran is inconsistent, but two songs – Kalli kalli and Anna Hazaare – are well composed and picturised. Editing work of Suresh Urs is top class.

Aarakshaka is an impressive film and can be watched despite flaws.

Challenging star Darshan was fitted silver crown in the presence of Tamil actor Sarathkumar, Kichcha Sudeep, Dinakar Toogudeepa, Srimurali were on the dais at that time.

The superstar of Tamil films Sarathkumar was the main attraction at the 100 days event and in his speech Sarathkumar went down memory lane. He remembered his paper boy days in Bengaluru and his acquaintance with many of the roads in Bengaluru came up in his speech. ‘Art’ has no language, barricade and no boundary. Acting in Sarathi I have acted in all South Indian language films he said. All artists are one he pointed strongly. Sarathkumar thanked the siblings Darshan and Dinakar profusely because they waited for a long time to get me in to the film. I fell down from the horse resulted in some trouble for the shoot of ‘Sarathi’ disclosed Sarathkumar.

Politicians Cheluvaraya Swamy, TB Jayachandra, MLC E Krishnappa, Puttanna plus Koladamatadha Shanthaveera Swamiji,  KV Chandraskehar, Darshan, Smt Vijayalakshmi Darshan, Smt Meena Toogudeepa Srinivas, Kicha Sudeep, Dinakar Toogudeepa, KCN Chandrasekhar, MS Ramesh, Thara, Deepa Sannidhi, KV Sathyaprakash and others were on the dais.

There is ‘Stri Shakthi’ in the film – referring to Goddess Chamundeswari the film has won in the box office stated Sri Shanthaveera Swamiji. Veteran producer KCN Chandraskehar preferred to call Darshan and Dinakar at ‘Apoorva Sahodararu’.

Challenging star Darshan has agreed to donate Rs.25 lakhs to the welfare fund of Kannada Cinema Artists and technicians

Challenging star Darshan has agreed to donate Rs.25 lakhs to the welfare fund of Kannada Cinema Artists and technicians. This information was revealed by KFCC President KV Chandrasekhar at the 100 days event of ‘Sarathi’ on Monday.

Darshan donation of Rs.25 lakhs was announced at the Dr Raj Cup time and that fund will be added to Rs.50 lakhs of welfare fund granted by the government of Karnataka says KV Chandrasekha, President of KFCC.

Two years ago Karnataka state budget has announced this setting up of Rs.50 lakhs for the welfare schemes of weaker section of Artists and Technicians. The fund is very soon reaching the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce.

The former information minister Khatta Subramania Naidu was the first person to announce this welfare fund for a ‘Revolving Fund’ pattern. He urged the Kannada cinema industry persons to contribute to this fund and make it big to serve the needy and distress people of the Kannada cinema industry.

Darshan Sultan of Box office from ‘Sarathi’ Kannada cinema was the first artist to contribute Rs.25 lakhs to this welfare fund set up on behalf of the Government of Karnataka.

Saarathee 100 Days Function Photo Gallery :

Film –

The trailers of ‘Sidlingu’ created curiosity mainly because director Vijaya Prasad comes from the television industry – he is known for directing super-hit Kannada comedy ‘Silly Lalli’, which has completed more than 1,000 episodes. Also, lead actor Yogish, who is in his early 20s, has been paired with 30-year-old Ramya.

Yogish had said that he had a big crush on Ramya. The film’s music had also been much liked for its variety in composition and different type of lyrics.

With such interesting features, ‘Sidlingu’, produced by Yogish’s father Siddaraju, does not disappoint you, except for the last 30 minutes.

The first 100 minutes have lot of pleasant surprises in store with comical dialogues and natural performances holding the key to the engagement of the film. But last half an hour has meaningless twists in the story and fails to sustain the pace.

The sudden tragic end to the film may disappoint the audiences. Prasad continues to exhibit his eccentricity, shown in his television serials, even in the film. Several sequences and dialogues look unconventional, but are certainly enjoyable.

At the same time the film also has some dull moments.

‘Sidlingu’ is a well-performed film and director should be credited for taking best out of all the experienced artists. Anoop Sileen’s music gels well with the narration, while Sugnaan’s imaginative camera work stands out. Technically, the film is top class.

Sidlingu has a passion for cars and gets closer to a young girl and a middle-aged lecturer Andaalamma because of his desire to own a car. But the lecturer, who gives him lift, seduces him. Later Sidlingu moves to Srirangapattana where he finds one vintage car and wants to purchase it for an offer price of Rs.60,000. There he meets schoolteacher Mangala who helps him to realise his dreams.

Sidlingu even expresses his desire to marry Mangala, but she keeps mum as she feels Sidlingu is an innocent and infatuated youngster. Later tragedy strikes and robs Sidlingu off Mangala.

Yogish’s natural dialogue delivery is the major attraction in the film. Ramya looks apt for the role of a teacher, but she does not have too many sequences to show her acting skills.

Suman Ranganath too looks convincing in her role. All the experienced artists from the television serials have done their job perfectly.

Anoop Sileen has done wonderful work in composing songs ‘Elle nodu manase’ and ‘Achu mechchu’. Sugnaan’s colour scheme and framing is perfect. The rural situations look natural and real thanks to the work done by art director.

‘Sidlingu’ is a better presented with a good performance from young hero Yogish.

Film –

R. Chandru directed ‘Kho Kho’ is a predictable fare that has a story which is often seen in Indian films. The film with top names in the cast and acclaimed technicians in the crew doesn’t offer anything innovative. The element of surprise is missing from the narration and it moves on without generating curiosity.

Director Chandru had made his debut with ‘Taj Mahal’, a promising film. But he did not show traces of same brilliance in his second attempt ‘Prem Kahani’. His third film ‘Mylari’ had a convincing screenplay and an interesting narration, which not only elevated the star status of Shivaraj Kumar, but had also strengthened people’s belief that Chandru is capable of delivering good commercial entertainer.

Unfortunately his fourth directorial venture “Kho Kho” is a let down as it ends up as an ordinary fare with no freshness in the content. The story lacks elements of logic, as many sequences look unbelievable. The continuity is missing in many sequences evident in the way songs and action sequences appear on screen without any connectivity.

Songs do not engage audiences either.

Prior to the release, Chadndru had claimed that “Kho Kho” is a stylishly made film with state of the art technical support. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t qualify for a stylish presentation.

Chandru should take the blame for such a poor screenplay and illogical sequences. He should have worked more on screenplay.

The brazenness with which Chandru has lifted sequences from successful non-Kannada films may surprise you. The film’s pace is inconsistent and it lacks continuity. There is no build up to many important sequences and songs.

Camera work and background music are high points of the film, but bad song compositions and poor editing work mar it.

Ramana Gogula’s compositions are ordinary and tunes of two songs have been lifted from his non-Kannada films.

Telugu actor Srihari’s dubbing work is another irritant.

Film starts off with Cauvery, sister of strict police commissioner Srihari Prasad, accidentally meeting an IPS aspirant Kitty in a chess match. They become good friends, but this does not go well with Cauvery’s suspecting brother who engages his assistant to threaten Kitty.

Cauvery wants to get married to her boyfriend in the temple town of Kukke. Meanwhile, Kitty, who has been earlier misunderstood by Srihari Prasad, wants to clears all that.

Kitty, who has delivered some strong performances, has been cast as an action hero and he has tried his best to look convincing on the screen. But he has to definitely improve upon his dancing abilities.

Priyamani looks glamorous in the song sequences and she looks quite good in some emotional scenes too. Harshika Poonacha carries off her part very well and it is high time she should be offered more challenging roles.

Telugu actor Srihari is not likeable because of his dialogue delivery and artificial mannerism.

Anu Prabhakar, Ravi Kale, Bullet Prakash, Rangayana Raghu, Sadhu Kokila and Shobharaj have carried off their respective roles quite efficiently.

Chandrashekhar once again proves that he is a top-notch cinematographer. Outdoor sequences boasts of visual splendor.

A lot more was expected from ‘Kho Kho’, but the film is just an ordinary flick. Chandru had a chance to make a total entertainer, but fails because of his shortcomings as a scriptwriter.

Cast –

Technically this film is superb as loads of action scenes are appealing even though it is beyond imagination. The camera work especially and editing worked out very well for this film.

This film is partially made with the strength of sound engineer. The noise of this film lent in the recording room is stunning and required for such high voltage scenes.

Malashri wins this time in both action and dialogue delivery. The plumb Malashri has not reduced for this film. She has the personality of two tummy police officers. It seems the last resort for Malashri is this action cinema in her future professional career. Struggle is there and she gets whistle for her dialogues in ‘Shakthi’.

Soujanya as a mad girl in the film throughout is quite impressive. Sayyaji Shindhe dialogue is a big pain. Ashish Vidyarthi has a decent role. The rabble rousers Avinash, Sharat Lohitashva, Hema Chaudhary, Manoj have strained their voice box too much

Kolaveri Di is about to reach 3.5 million views… This is Indian Level…

Now its Karnataka’s turn…

A boy is rapping about his engineer student life in stairs and a known pg terrace, he becomes for loss of good “Figurru” and sings his feelings with a street dog, and the security guard in McD becomes an engineer and lots more… People loved it, laughed it, appreciated it, shared it and filled lots of love and support into Empty Pockets..!!

Yeah, you read the review of this Video Song few days back in this space.

A group of Empty Pocketed guys started this music video as hobby and getting viral online in our ‘Local’ Level..!! In FB, everywhere it’s being talked; blogs written on them are getting shared more than 100 shares in FB, even our review on music and video got shared more than  shares in FB..!! And now the official video in YouTube is almost reaching 30 thousand visits and still counting, for now at least 100 views per hour and they “Empty Pocket Bros” looking forward to 50k views and to reach all over Karnataka and gain support. Already Karnataka and Engineers gave a big welcome to this video.

A group of debutant amateurs making a music video and uploading it to YouTube, which later shared in FB and within 5 hours it gets 5k hits, in 8 hours it reaches 8k and in next 2 hours it reaches more than 12k..!! Goes viral on Twitter and FB. Its being discussed everywhere.Now its almost reaching its 30k views and this progress and support encouraged “Empty Pocket Bros” to reach next level and to make a number of future projects, but first they want to reach each Kannadigas with ‘I m an Engineeroo’ all over the world, wherever there is a Kannadiga..!!

If haven’t seen the video yet, watch it here..

Sources also said that the young talents are being contacted by some radio stations for the official air of ‘I m an Engineeroo’on Radio.

The credit goes to all Emptied pocket brothers but mainly 3 people deserve applause, they are Rakesh K.S – The Sound Engineer-Composer-Performer of the Song and Video; Rakesh Maiya – The Director-Concept-Cinematographer of the Video and Last but not at all least, Arjun Kaje – The Lyricist-Singer-Performer in the Video and Song..!! These 3 talents in different field bound together to bring a little new to Kannada… Their intention was not only to make a song for Engineers, but also to make a Song for Kannadigas. The song is mainly made by these 3 for engineers.  Rakesh Maiya is a MBA graduate and works as Financial Analyst at Unisys, Rakesh K.S is a business student who also composes music in his own “Next Generation Recording Studio” and again last but not the least Arjun Kaje is an Engineeruu who is really an Engineering student in Reva Institute of Technology who will become an Engineer in few months. Arjun Kaje and Rakesh Maiya are originally from Puttur near Mangalore. Arjun Kaje is also a Yakshagana artist or we can say talent by birth..!!

There was a ‘Leaked Video’ of the official released “I m an Engineeroo” video song before 10 days of official release, watch it here…

They feel that Kannada industry is in growing stage and they want to contribute something for their mother tongue. First attempt is reaching its success now; they want more support and encouragement in future. So again we say Watch – Share – Encourage..!! “Empty Pocket Bros” are extremely happy and thankful for the support and love from people.

Like this there are plenty of talents who just need a break. If they get break, we need to support – encourage them and we have to grow them. Its not only success of theirs, its success of them and everyone who supported them by watching – sharing and spreading the word..!!

All these years the Kingfisher Calendar was giving such erotic costumes photographs and from this year Celebrity Cricket League as promotion for 2012 has roped in the sweet heroines of South India for the Calendar poses.

In the Celebrity Cricket League 2012 calendar top actresses Priyamani, Sriya Saran, Bhavana, Sonakshi Sinha, Amala Paul, Charma, Deeksha Seth, Genelia, Kajal, Kangana Raut, Lakshmi Rai, Richa Gangopadhya, Riya Sen, Sameera Reddy are in the glamorous costumes.