I wanted to write this review in Achha Kasturi Kannada. But since I wanted a global audience for my review. I stick to write about this sensational kannada film in English.
The title signifies that the film uses the Monsoon’s first Rain as a metopher for LOVE.
The product is a brainchild of the director Mr Yogaraj Bhat who has personified the human emotions to the showers of rain in the scintillating scenic backdrop of Madikeri(Coorg), Sakaleshpura & Jog falls.
The director has made an ordinary story into a masterpiece artwork.
The story in brief:
The main protagonist of the film, Preetam(Ganesh) is a spoilt brat but emotinal at heart. He spots a divine beauty called Nandini, amidst heavy wind & is instantly attracted towards her & begins to develop an instant liking for her. Decides that very moment that this unknown girl would be the love of his life.
He tries to trace her whereabouts but in vain.
Preetam’s heart is now showered with the first few droplets of LOVE. He has his encounter with the Monsoon’s first Rain in Coorg when his mom asks him to drop him to Coorg where the marriage of her friend’s daughter is about to take place in about 10-15 days from now.
Well, Preetam meets the same girl(Nandini) whom he had decided to be the love of his life amidst the cool breeze & the heart warming nature city Coorg. This time preetam outrightly proposes her & Nandini rejects her outright she being already engaged.
Preetam still wows to marry her if he meets her again.
But, to his agony, he discovers that Nanadini is the girl who is her mom’s friend’s daughter who is scheduled to get married very soon. With a shattered heart, Preetam decides to leave the city.
But while Preetam is about to make a move in his car, he gets a call from Nandini, who challenges him to win his heart in a playful mood & asks him to stay back.
Preetam apologises to her at first but feels that he should prove his love to her & decides to stay back. On the way back he remebers the love shaped watch of nandini which he had thrown on the way. He tries to skape for it in the night & luckily finds it back with a cute rabbit whom he lovably calls devdas with whom he shares his feelings of LOVE & compassion.
What happens to the love life of Preetam forms the rest of the story.
The film emphasises sacrifice in LOVE as a noble deed than to achieve in LOVE by hurting the sentiments & emotions of your near & dear ones.
The film’s music & cinematography takes the film to the highest standards in Indian cinema.
The song sung by Sonu Nigam. Anisutide Yaako Indu. has become an anthem of sorts in the industry. The songs n music score of the film rightly deserve the applause which it is getting.
An interesting fact is that the music director Mano murthy is a resident of California who works for the Software firm CISCO there is a part time music professionalist.(now he has bid farewell to his software profession) The songs were composed by him by conversing with Yogaraj Bhat & Jayant Kaykini, the Lyricist through SMS exchanges & telephonic conversations.
The breathtaking scenic shots from Madikeri, Coorg & jog falls are purely a divine experience on the theatre screens. This made me visit Jog falls in karnataka again.
Some of the memorable scenes from the film:
When Preetam’s face is splashed with dirt while fixing his car tyre & Nandini from another car throws a hanky at him.
The entire song sequences of Title song, Anisutide yaako indu, Kunidu Kunidu baare.
The emotional outburst of the drunk Preetam where he confesses his deep love to Nandini & that he wants to stay a decent guy without provoking an already engaged girl to elope with him.
Preetam pacifying the villian who is also madly in love with Nandini that he can understands his feelings. The villian reciprocates him by saying that Preetam is a no ordinary man & that he has a heart of gold.
Preetam’s(Ganesh) emotional acting when his loving rabbit devdas perishes in the end with whom he used to share his heartfelt feelings.
Ganesh has exceeded the nuiances of a budding actor & is heading towards gaining an overnight stardom & an iconic image in Karnataka. He truly deserves the fruits of his hardwork as he has potrayed his character with a great sense of maturity especially in emotional scenes.
Excellent camerawork & the choice of scenic spots for shooting the whole film makes Mungaaru Male a painting full of LIFE & vibrant colours.
The cast & crew of the film is relatively new to the Kannada film industry. This is Ganesh’s second film as hero who was a televison show artist & the heroine Sanjana Gandhi(now calls herself as Puja Gandhi) is an unknown actress.
The director Yogaraj Bhat had 2 commercially failed movies(Mani and Ranga SSLC) to his credit.
The cameraman Krishna was a part time photographer before venturing into this film.
This is producer E Krishnappa’s first venture in kannada cinema. The Music director Mano Murthy is an exception in this list.
The film was released in Dec 29, 2006 & its been about 6 months now & is still heading strong in its box office collections breaking all the previous records of kannada films.
This new team has created a magical wave in the kannada cinema which stands for its creativeness, talent and a vibrant artistic approach towards cinema.