For more than two hours I was soaked in the culture of South Canara . The sea, the riverside, greenery and the folk arts all produce a mesmerizing effect. Some of the newspapers found the movie to be stretched , meandering and a waste of time. What I did conclude after watching "Ulidavaru Kandante" was that they exaggerated the film's weaknesses to a great extent .
The film doesn't sell itself as a thriller . Neither does it promise a mind-blowing climax . All it seeks is, to show a portmanteau of perspectives on an incident during the Krishnashtami season in Udupi. Though the perspectives are not etched very well , they provide interesting insights to life in South Canara during the early 90's . I could relate to the ideas of "running away from home to Bombay / Gulf " , underworld etc because these were some of the social issues that I saw during my years of growing up in Udupi ( the 90's).
The swagger of Rakshit Shetty , the portrayal of despair and hope by Thara , joie de vivre of the children ,the love-struck Kishore and the sheer brilliance of Achyuth Kumar make the movie a treat to watch. The perspectives do overlap, but that's how an incident pans out in real- life. Many of the dialogues are in Kundapura Kannada and a few are in Tulu . This makes the movie very real but audiences could find it hard to understand them . And subtitles were missing in some places . I did love some of the colloquialisms in the movie, "Vali Kaluk " : which means to turn a woman a widow ( Vole : Ornament , Kaliyodu : Remove in Kannada ), Boda Sheera ( Do you want sheera - Kesari Bhath in Tulu , an allusion to Sheera served during the Hindu ceremony of mourning). These gems were lost on the audience without an appropriate explanation of the contaxt. Rakshit delivers his dialogues with a flamboyance that makes them memorable.The cinematography, music and the choreography of the Huli- Vesha are absolutely top class.The cinematic device of using the story of a Cuban boy and the Agneepath protagonist is a nice touch.
I am giving the movie an 8 because it could have been shorter, the perspectives should have been clearer and easy to follow for an ordinary viewer. Ulidavaru Kandante demands a little patience from the cine goer but the movie is a rewarding experience.
The film doesn't sell itself as a thriller . Neither does it promise a mind-blowing climax . All it seeks is, to show a portmanteau of perspectives on an incident during the Krishnashtami season in Udupi. Though the perspectives are not etched very well , they provide interesting insights to life in South Canara during the early 90's . I could relate to the ideas of "running away from home to Bombay / Gulf " , underworld etc because these were some of the social issues that I saw during my years of growing up in Udupi ( the 90's).
The swagger of Rakshit Shetty , the portrayal of despair and hope by Thara , joie de vivre of the children ,the love-struck Kishore and the sheer brilliance of Achyuth Kumar make the movie a treat to watch. The perspectives do overlap, but that's how an incident pans out in real- life. Many of the dialogues are in Kundapura Kannada and a few are in Tulu . This makes the movie very real but audiences could find it hard to understand them . And subtitles were missing in some places . I did love some of the colloquialisms in the movie, "Vali Kaluk " : which means to turn a woman a widow ( Vole : Ornament , Kaliyodu : Remove in Kannada ), Boda Sheera ( Do you want sheera - Kesari Bhath in Tulu , an allusion to Sheera served during the Hindu ceremony of mourning). These gems were lost on the audience without an appropriate explanation of the contaxt. Rakshit delivers his dialogues with a flamboyance that makes them memorable.The cinematography, music and the choreography of the Huli- Vesha are absolutely top class.The cinematic device of using the story of a Cuban boy and the Agneepath protagonist is a nice touch.
I am giving the movie an 8 because it could have been shorter, the perspectives should have been clearer and easy to follow for an ordinary viewer. Ulidavaru Kandante demands a little patience from the cine goer but the movie is a rewarding experience.