First, a warning to all those people who want to see the Kannada movie Janumadha Gelathi. This film has been directed by Dinesh Baboo.
Please do not have any illusions about this film. It is not like Amrutha Varshini, Akasha Gange and Suprabhata. It has no semblance to those healthy comedy films like Hendthige Heltheene. It is not even like the Nishabdha made by this dependable director. His reputation is that of a director who makes films that can be watched by the entire family.
Janumadha Gelathi is an aberration from Dinesh Baboo, a film that can be forgotten fast. The film is not even worth a discussion to find out where the director of many sensible films has gone wrong. He fails in every department of film.
The story written by him is heavily inspired by director Balu Mahendra's Yatra which starred Mammootty and Shobhana. The erratic screenplay has also taken many incidents from Kamal Hassan's Virumandi. For example, the film starts with a journalist interviewing a dreaded murderer in the cell like in Virumandi.
The slow pace of the film notwithstanding, Dinesh Baboo also makes a blunder by showcasing the film's heroine without make-up.
Like Mammotty in Yatra, Srinagara Kitty plays the role of a freshly appointed forest ranger Gowri Shankar. Like in Yatra, the trouble happens just before his marriage to his lover Manjula. From there on, the director's imagination goes haywire. Like Shobhana in the original film, Pooja Gandhi who portrays the lover's role, waits for her lover to return without realizing what had happened to him in between.
Srinagara Kitty makes efforts to give a convincing performance. Pooja Gandhi has also done well in her small role, though she would have looked better with make-up on! Veteran artists Jayanthi, Avinash, Suresh Mangalore and Harish Rai have limited scope in the film to perform.
V Manohar's music is just okay. One song is well composed, but picturisation lacks quality.
The verdict? A below average fare from Dinesh Baboo.
Rediff Rating: 
