Renowned Kannada poet Gopalakrishna Adiga’s famous quote – Iruvudellava bittu iradudaredege tudivude jeevana (Life is all about disregarding everything we have and craving for things that we don’t have) – is well-known in the state. This film, with a slight revision – Iruvudellava bittu iruve bitkolode jeevana (Life is all about disregarding everything we have and inviting trouble) – is a new-age tale that explores modern day relationships, with a dash of culture lessons for today’s audiences.
Poorvi (Meghana Raj) is a career-oriented corporate employee and a very practical woman. She has loving parents and caring relatives. Poorvi, amid severe opposition from family, moves in with Dev (Tilak Shekar), her co-worker to start a live-in relationship. Dev firmly believes that marriage alone cannot bring sanctity to a relationship. Poorvi becomes pregnant and because of this her most-awaited project lands into Dev’s hands. Then comes the ego clash. The rest of the movie is about how the conflict is resolved.
Though the film initially promises to be different, it ends up being another regular family entertainer with the theme ‘women always need a knight in shining armour to save them’. But still, it carries a message though not convincingly.
Meghana Raj as Poorvi is one of the best characters the actor has played till date. She is strong, inspiring and plays by the rules. She has done absolute justice to the role of a single mother juggling her career and the only person in her life – her son. Tilak as Dev fits the bill, but it is debutant actor Shri Mahadev, who plays an orphan, who stands out. His acting is natural and his screen presence is admirable. He injects fresh energy into the second half of the film and keeps it alive until the climax scene.
Actor Sriimurali has provided his voice for a character narration throughout the film. Multilingual actor/director Sandeep Malani appears as Poorvi’s sexist boss in a blink-and-you-miss-it role. Achyut Kumar and Aruna Balraj as Poorvi’s parents do a good job. Achyut always calls the shots while Aruna Balraj has minimal dialogues.
This is Kanthraj Kanalli’s second film after Jalsa and the director has proved his mettle. William David’s cinematography is a highlight of the movie. Be it Meghana and Tilak’s steamy scenes in a song or the serene beaches and Bhoota Kola folk dance of Mangaluru or the drone shots, every frame is striking.
Sridhar V Sambhram, who has earlier delivered super-hit music albums, somehow does not live up to expectations. Romantic melodies are his forte but the numbers in Iruvudellava Bittu do not evoke too many emotions. The dance number ‘Kuniri Thakatta, Kuniri Thakkatai’ rendered by Tamil actor Simbu, which is already a chartbuster, is worth watching out for.
For Sandalwood, Iruvudellava… is indeed a bold attempt. Except for some lag before the interval, the film does what it is supposed to do – entertain for a good three hours.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film’s producers or any other members of its cast and crew.