Kaamannana Makkalu Movie Review – Sudeep Sizzles

By Raju Shanbhag

There are not many actors in Kannada film industry who are capable of carrying the weight of an entire film on their shoulders single handedly. While making Kamannana Makkalu, producer and director Chi Gurudatt must have understood that the film needs an actor who can run an one man show without any great effort. Guess what? He has found the right man for job, because Sudeep steals the show from everyone else in Kamannana Makkalu.

Kamannana Makkalu is a Sudeep show right from the beginning to the end. The story is about Kamanna (Doddanna) and his two sons who marry their girlfriends in a village. Understandably, there are other elements such as a helpless family waiting to be saved by Sudeep, an oppressive Patela and his Chelas waiting to be bashed up by Sudeep and company. But boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, and those in between, story is just an irritating coincidence in this Sudeep show. If the guy played a sensitive radio jockey in Mussanje Maathu, he now plays an unsophisticated pedestrian who couldn’t care less about the civil aspects of life. He wears outrageous clothes, beats up well built Goons, and impresses the hell out of heroine and her father. While doing so, Sudeep gives ample proof of his caliber as a star and why people like Ram Gopal Varma are looking to work with him.

We have heard that this is a remake of a Mammootty starrer Malayalam movie, Thommanum Makkalum. We have not seen the original and hence, we’ll not compare Kamannana Makkalu with that. The Kannada version of the movie is like a platform for Sudeep to showcase his talents, and there is plenty of that on show. Lots of other actors would have made a caricature out of themselves, given the outlandish appearance of the character and horrible storyline. But Sudeep adapts himself perfectly to the role with his special antics and amazing presence on the screen. It’s as if the movie attains a whole new level when this guy appears on the screen. His body language is confident and his acting skills are superb.

Other than Sudeep, the film keeps you entertained till the interval with some really funny dialogues from Sadhu Kokila and Sudeep. Dialogues are a real contributing factor in the first half, with Sadhu Kokila getting the funniest of the dialogues in the movie. But post interval, director Chi Gurudatt takes an unexpected U-Turn, ditching comedy and concentrating more on irritating emotionalism and needless twists in the tale which irritate you to no end. Even the histrionics of Sudeep fails to save the movie in the second half.

Apart from Sudeep, Doddanna and Sadhu Kokila do a neat job. But Rockline Venkatesh disappoints big time as both his facial expressions and comedy timing ditch him big time. His dialogue delivery and acting make you wish that Kamanna had only one son! Both the leading ladies(Deepu, and Vaibhavi) are pretty and have performed neatly, but been given less scope. Vidyasagar’s music is another disappointment in the film, with none of the tunes being catchy (glad that we didn’t review its music!).

Gurudatt’s direction in the first half is lively and keeps you engaged. But in the second half, he loses the plot with and fails in handling the emotional scenes, especially the one where Sudeep comes to the Patela’s house and creates a scene.

Watch Kamannana Makkalu for Sudeep, Sadhu Kokila and their rib tickling dialogues. If you have some urgent work, you can leave the theatre after the first half; by then, you would have got your money’s worth and saved your time.