Movie: Allama
Cast: Dhananjay, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Meghana Raj, Ramakrishna, Sanchari Vijay
Director: TS Nagabharana
When a multiple award-winning director decides to do a movie on one of the most iconic historical personalities from the 12th Century — Allama Prabhu, the expectations are naturally high. Such a delicate subject requires to be handled with utmost care and precision, with no room for dissent or disappointment.
The movie which is an attempt to throw light on the life of Allama starts on a picture perfect note but unfortunately gets lost in its journey, leaving the audience in a state of confusion.
Allama is regarded for his foresight and that is clearly reflected in his works, the majority of which are fortunately available even today. A film of this magnitude probably needed a simple narrative rather than making it too artistic. The first half of Allama gives a depiction of how the 12th century, despite its shortcomings, and the best parts are a few commendable performances.
Dhananjay does an exemplary job portraying Allama and stays honest to the era, and to the magnanimous character. It’s a great sign for any actor to pull off such a challenge. Yet, Allama as a whole is basically about the important phases of this much celebrated life — from childhood to sainthood.
Text-book language is the other drawback of Allama though the makers might be justified in keeping it real, but whether it was the way of life, is a little hard to grasp. For a layman who wants a peek at Allama, this film is beyond any reach of understanding, especially concepts like worldly pleasure.
It is not everybody’s cup of tea. The audience needs a mini guidebook about Allama in simple text to watch the director’s version of Allama. However, Dhananjay as Allama is outstanding and Meghana as Maya Devi is magical, before she vanishes after a brief role.
Watch this epic by Nagabharana for the performances, but to precisely understand the ‘man’, it is highly recommended to do an authentic search about the great saint and poet before venturing into this one.
