‘Nanjanagud Nanjunda’: Poor remake of hit film (Kannada Film Review)

Film: “Nanjanagud Nanjunda”; Cast: Ravishankar, Hamsini, Sharath Lohithashwa, Nagaraja Kote, Thulasi Shivamani, K.S.L. Swame, Mithra; Directed by: Sreenivasa Prasad; Rating:*1/2

“Nanjanagud Nanjunda” tells the story of a suspicious husband who is married to a beautiful and intelligent girl. However, the film is not original and is a remake of famous Malayalam writer-director Srinivasan’s “Vadakkunokkiyantram” (The Mariner’s Compass) — a hit in 1989.

The film was later remade as “Dindigul Sarathy” in Tamil in 2008 with Karunas as the hero. Now, the film is made in Kannada with little changes and diluting the strong emotional content that was seen in the original. A wrong film with no purpose.

Director Srinivasa Prasad has turned out to be a flop - in the selection of both the story and artists. The dialogues also fail to leave any impact compared to the original Malayalam movie.

From the very beginning to the end, the drama and screenplay lack the punch to pull spectators. Even the technical work of the film does not compare with the brilliance seen in today’s Kannada films. The net result is “Nanjanagud Nanjunda” looks totally out of place and is more like a relic of the past.

Nanjunda, who hails from the temple town of Nanjanagud, suffers from an inferiority complex which leads him to suspect others’ actions and motives. He always misunderstands others. Parvathy, a girl in the neighbourhood, marries him after Nanjunda is rejected by many. Nanjunda is happy but suspects every other man who is taller or fairer of eyeing his wife and lives in perpetual mental trauma.

Slowly he becomes a laughing stock among his friends and starts earning the wrath of everyone around him, and his loved ones start leaving him, unable to stand his behaviour.

His wife, who is more trustworthy, faces problems and complications because of Nanjunda’s ways. She also decides to leave Nanjunda and stay with her parents who refuse the overtures of Nanjunda. After his wife leaves him, Nanjunda’s life turns into a nightmare. Finally, Nanjunda is cured of his psychological disorder by a psychiatrist and the film ends on a happy note.

Actor Ravishankar delivers his best in the lead role as Nanjunda while Hamsini shines well but has little scope. Other veteran artists have very little chance to perform.

The music of the film is average. Ravishankar tries to salvage the mediocre “Nanjanagud Nanjunda”, but he fails. Overall, it’s just an average flick.