A visual feast: that is what RangiTharanga is

RangiTaranga.

I thought it was an art film of sorts, then came to know it was a suspense thriller. But before going to the movie I seriously didn't expect such a commercial drama with a psychopath killer! Hats off to the director Anup Bhandari and the team for pulling it off!

The movie is full of visual glory, including the colourful dressings of the characters. That, along with the cinematography and music, in my view, is the hero. The actors did their bit too. I loved the look and acting of Radhika Chetan, who plays the main heroine. For some reason I loved the song KeLe Cheluve too.



The capturing of the bhootharadhane, yakshagana and the landscape - all beautiful. The plot doesn't let anyone to guess what is coming up next - that also is the hero in this cinema.

In many scenes, particularly two murder scenes, the black screen leaves the viewers to imagine the goriness of the scene, though no blood is shown. That in my view makes it all more sinister. All you see is the sword cutting off supposedly the target, and a silhouette of the headless body hanging from a tree. The technique is not new but we are used to seeing real blood and violence in movies that even a small lack of it looks worth highlighting!

There are successful attempts at comedy too. So one gets to laugh a lot.

Not that the movie is perfect. There are fighting scenes, especially underwater, which probably added no value to the movie other than the fancy of underwater photography that was not visually very perfect. Could have been avoided, and made simpler.

Some dialogues are artificial and don't go with the flow. There are continuity problems in shooting, sequencing and story (Eg: The husband is busy in a function and is with the psycho killer, but at the same time the wife gets attacked. By whom, if the psycho killer is in another place?) And it looks like the old haunted house where the killings take place and the main house in the story are pretty nearby, but oftentimes that connection is not made. Similarly why the watch stolen from the house was lying in the forest, what is the significance of it? If not important why show it?

If such loopholes were to be avoided the film would have been perfect. But these are negligible when the audience is lost in the suspense of the drama - matter only to critics because ordinary janata is much more forgiving.

What I didn't like: The twisted South Canara Kannada accent that mocks the real accent, spoken by many characters. It should have been natural.

All in all, the show was houseful. I personally don't like such thrillers that play on fear and emotions and project psychos, but this one was a unique experience, may be because I haven't seen them for a long time. This is another song I liked.




And the song Dennanaaa Dennaana makes the connection to the old forgotten serial Guddada Bhootha which we as kids used to sit and watch every week. The plot almost becomes guess-able with the song, but only one part of it, not all!




*****
Trust me, what you see in the movie is only fiction. Real undivided South Canara is not so mysterious and scary, and there are no ghosts whatsoever. In my part of the area (Kasaragod), you actually get to see dancing peacocks whose population has multiplied in recent years. The terrain is actually cool, serene and will rid your soul of any negative influences. Come, visit and enjoy!

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