The size of a creative person's ego is immeasurable especially when his work is appreciated and he's forced to share the success with someone he feels is less deserving. In cinema everyone wants a slice of the spotlight even if it scalds their skin. It's also one of the few places where you don't have to be formally trained in any department. Directors sometimes feel left out when the success of their film is attributed to the presence of a star. Every director worth his megaphone cultivates a claque who eggs him on to don grease paint too. "Yavan Yavano hero agthane nimagen saar kammi" you hear them saying. Good cinema is the creation of collective talent. Mano Murthy may have written a brilliant tune but he needed a Jayant Kaikini and a Sonu Nigam to make it memorable.
This is the point Prem probably missed when he hastily agreed to face the camera. Actors can make good directors but the reverse is seldom true. Now I personally feel his "Jogi" was a terrible film but you don't argue with success. I was not disappointed with "Preethi Yeke Bhoomi Melidhe" because I had nil expectations. It's the arrogance and the sheer audacity to try and make a film without even a whiff of a plot that's disturbing. Never ever take the paying public for fools. I can't remember the last time I saw audiences stretch and yawn ten minutes into a film. Every character suffers from acute verbal diarrhoea and it doesn't help that the outpourings are sheer nonsense. The plot about the protagonists waiting for destiny to make them meet is puerile.
The so-called mother sentiment that was said to be one of the reasons for the success of Jogi success is overdone with the talented Archana reduced to a hysterical heap. Prem the actor is as expressive as a mannequin. The only plus in the film is a long drawn out fight sequence captured with a steadycam. It's raw, sans stunts and done in a single shot. Every experience is a lesson. I hope Prem learns from this one. He has to realise that gaining the public's confidence is very difficult. Losing it is very easy.
It's already four days into another eventful year. Fans have a veritable feast in store. The most awaited film is defi- nitely "Gaali Pata" which was slated for release today but has been pushed to the January 18. The reticent Ratnaja's "Honganasu" is also getting released on the same day. Incidentally, the songs of these two films are fighting it out where audio sales are concerned. There's Kavita Lankesh's "Avva" starring Vijay. Ramesh is wrapping up "Accident" and hopes to release the film by the end of March. "Duniya" Suri has quietly finished his next film produced by Yograj Bhat. You would have noticed that none of the major stars movies figure here. Well the audiences are tired of the same faces performing the same stunts and spewing rhetoric. Kannada audiences are embracing fresh talent bursting with ideas. The stars are losing their sheen.
sshivu@yahoo.com
