Engeyum Eppodhum hit in Tamil, Endhendhu Ninagagi average in Kannada
Bangaluru: As the remake of a Tamil hit movie Engeyum Eppodhum, the Kannada version falls a bit flat even though it remains “true” to the original script. It disappoints those who have seen the Tamil version, which is brilliant in its crisp onscreen presentation.
However, for first time watchers, Endhendhu Ninagagi is interesting despite a few drawbacks. Led by debutant Vivek Narasimhan, the nephew of Crazy Star V. Ravichandran and Deepa Sannidhi, who shoulders a more mature character, they both have done a good job though it is still the characters of Ajneesh and Sindhu Loknath who steal the show in Endhendhu Ninagagi.
From the first scene till the climax, director Mahesh Rao does a straight copy paste but spoils it by revealing the outcome of the climax in the middle, which kills the curiosity of the viewer.
With majority of the film shot inside moving buses, it embarks upon a journey of two couples who accidentally fall in love. The concept of two different love stories running parallel in a film seems a bit old fashioned, but due to the adaptation of the original script, the climax becomes inevitable.
A journey of two love stories — one of Sindhu Lokanth who arrives in Bengaluru to attend an interview and seeks Ajneesh’s help to reach her destination, and another of an innocent, “decent” and hardworking bachelor portrayed by Vivek, who falls in love with the character of a dominating lady played by Deepa Sannidhi.
The film opens with a gory head-on collision between two buses coming from opposite directions (one towards Bengaluru and another towards Davanagere). And this is the foundation of the story.
The film’s objective is simple — it highlights the ever increasing road mishaps due negligent driving resulting in innocent deaths every year across the globe. Hats off to the original writer who chose such a sensitive subject and managed to intertwine it with a touching love story.
Music by V. Harikrishna is apt and soothing even though not his best. It’s a definite watch for those who have not seen the Tamil version. For namma fans, pongal tastes much better than the ordinary lemon rice served to the Kannada audience!
Film: Endhendhu Ninagagi
Cast: Vivek, Deepa Sannidhi, Ajneesh, Sindhu Loknath
Direction: Mahesh Rao
