movie review "Naanu Nanna Kanasu"

I saw a good Kannada movie last month. This is news mainly because I don't see many movies and that because I usually don't rate the ones that I see as good! I'm a reluctant movie watcher. To convince myself that sitting passively for longer than 30 mins is okay, I need the following conditions to be met - 2 reviews that rate the movie 4 stars and at least 2 friends who recommend the movie!

For this particular movie, I didn't follow the rules. My dad, from whom I inherit the disinterest for movies recommended "Naanu, Nanna Kanasu". So I went to watch it. The movie didn't disappoint, I actually liked the movie. Why? The storyline is the same - girl meets boy, dad doesn't approve. However, the perspective is different and that makes a totally different movie. The story is from the dad's point of view and a first person narrative. So you actually see a new aspect in it. The buildup to the problem is also good. The story follows a meeting of Uttappa and a young dad, Jayanth . Jayanth reminds Uttappa of his younger self and Uttappa decides to enlighten the young dad about the parental trials to follow. He does that by narrating snippets of his life as a dad. There are lots of subtle points too which make an interesting 3hrs. Here are a few that got to me.

1. The character development of the girl, Kanasu.
Her growth and maturity is captured beautifully by her desire to help the less-fortunate amongst us.
As a school-going kid, she insists on letting a beggar live at home, as a college going student, she takes one to a homeless shelter and as an adult she marries Joginder Singh, someone who has opened and runs a shelter part-time apart from being brilliant economist.

2. The Subtlety of some messages
For example the mom's influence on her is portrayed by 2 incidents. The younger dad, Jayanth mentions it once and later the mom-daughter dialogue about her fiancée hints at it. Also the message about adoption is done beautifully.

3. The dad's love for his daughter and her fiancée’s recognition of it is also poignant.

I would have liked to see some hints of her being financial independent, no mention of her career is made. Also the second song and the slap stick humor regarding Brijesh, the adopted beggar seems to be misplaced in the movie.

All in all a good one. Go watch it!