You might think that a by-the-book formula film, particularly one in the comedy genre will have little to teach us. But masala films that never leave the predictable, formulaic path can still have great "life lessons" to offer us.
Many of the most ‘emotional’ scenes in Raj Vishnu, for instance, bludgeon us with the message that NRI children should not abandon the aged parents who struggled hard to raise them, educate them, and set them on a path to success that leads to the US, Europe or Australia. A worthy lesson, of course.
But you might wonder how to drag these migrants – who’ve developed amnesia about their homelands, families and even their mother tongues (gasp!) – back home to deliver this much needed message. Well, K Madhesh's Raj Vishnu has a simple solution to offer – have the loving patriarch stage his own death, and guilt trip all the NRI sons to return home. Never mind the trauma you’re causing them; guilt is what holds the Indian family together.
There’s also the message about perseverance, though this is hardly original to this film. Once you’ve spotted the woman you like, stalking her until she succumbs to your charms is the best way to win her over. Along the way, you can cause property damage, get her fired from her job, and cause strife within her family – because all is fair in love and war.
And, of course, heroines – Vaibhavi Shandilya in this case – basically exist to decorate the scenery and give the hero a chance to prove his fidelity and sincerity. So, it’s more important for the audience to get a lascivious glimpse of her midriff, her bust and her posterior. What her face looks like can just be an afterthought. What she likes and dislikes, what she thinks, what she wants out of life, all of these don’t really need to enter the picture for a successful romance.
Obviously, love will conquer all.
The fact that our hero (Sharan) is a wastrel who failed his Class 10 exams 10 times over, and has no plan for tomorrow or next week – let alone five years from now – shouldn’t really stand in the way of love.
After all, when he sets up a tea shop outside the heroine’s house so he can stare at her all day, and win her over with the intensity of his gaze, he’s also showing off his entrepreneurial spirit and his multi-tasking skills. If he puts his mind to it, our hero, can make a buck or two and stalk a lucky woman all at the same time. If even that fails, don’t worry, he’s probably got enough family privilege to sell property worth crores so he can turn into a suitable groom overnight.
But let’s not sell the film’s writing short. Because the one lesson Raj Vishnu has learnt about dialogue-writing for formula films -- if it rhymes and is pithy enough, it must be a good moral for life.The proverbs haven’t changed in decades, or even centuries. But you can make them contemporary enough by throwing in references to WiFi or mobile networks.
Don’t worry that this film is too serious and preachy, however. With Chikkanna for his foil, Sharan has plenty of slightly disturbing and fairly comic sequences to keep you entertained while you absorb your important lessons for life.
Who knew you could laugh so little and learn so much from a masala comedy film.