If you are an 80s or 90s kid who grew up in Karnataka, the title Sarvajanikarige Suvarnavakasha (Golden opportunity for the general public) is sure to trigger nostalgia. Autorickshaws mounted with loudspeakers would go around making announcements to attract the innocent public, towards mostly dubious schemes. While such public announcements have almost disappeared these days, the director’s idea to bring it back is commendable. But, does the movie live up to its “golden” title? Well, only in the last 30 minutes.
Vedant (Rishi) is an MBA student. His mother is bedridden and his father (Dattanna) takes several loans to make ends meet. Vedant’s girlfriend Janhavi (Dhanya Balakrishna) has epilepsy. Vedant, who already knows about the pain his mother is going through, makes sure that he takes good care of Janhavi.
On Janhavi’s birthday, her parents gift her a gold chain. The same day, she goes on a trip with Vedant. In a fight during the trip, she loses the chain. As she hesitates to go back home without the gold chain, Vedant takes her to a jewellery shop to buy her a new one. While he expects that the chain may cost about Rs 15,000, the actual price of the chain forces him to be a part of some dubious schemes and come up with Sarvajanikarige Suvarnavakasha.
The film takes a tad too long to establish itself. The first half completely delves into Vedant’s love story and some comedy. It is only in the second half that the film takes off about the actual concept. But here too, 40 minutes is spent in showing the villain Rangayana Raghu’s men chasing Rishi. Though these scenes have been blended with comedy, the running around becomes a bit exhausting. The heart of the film lies only in the last 30 minutes. But a Bollywood-ish twist in the climax is a huge let-down.
Many middleclass scenes highlight the tone of the film. The one where Janhavi’s mother (Shalini) tells her to wear the gold chain only on her birthday or the way Dattanna leads his life, auto driver Yesappa’s comedy, a wedding chaos in between all the chasing – it is all relatable and appealing. While many contended that the director’s previous movie, Gultoo, had catered only to multiplex audiences, Sarvjanikarige with a blend of a little bit of everything will satiate both all audiences to an extent.
Rishi is known for choosing unique scripts and this is no different. The concept is good but the execution could have been better. Here, we also get to see dancer Rishi and he has turned in a fab performance. While his last two films were of a very serious genre, in Sarvajanikarige he gets to shed the mask of seriousness and shake a leg without any inhibitions. Dhanya, in her debut Kannada movie, plays her role with ease. She effortlessly makes people feel sad about her medical condition, and also make them fall in love by acting through her eyes.
Mithra, Sid and Rangayana Raghu, with their comic tonic, keep the movie going. Mithra as Yesappa is an absolute treat. The comedy in the film itself is a rollercoaster ride and leaves the audience in splits. Kannada audiences finally have some good clean humour without the aid of double entendre.
Director Anoop Ramaswamy serves an almost perfect platter. While Gultoo was a very serious subject, here he gets to experiment a lot and bring in new genres together. If shortened by 30-40 minutes, the movie would have been a perfect entertainer. Midun Mukundan’s peppy numbers get full marks.
Sarvajanikarige Suvarnavakasha can be a good watch if you can excuse the slow pace and repetitiveness of the film.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the series/film. TNM Editorial is independent of any business relationship the organisation may have with producers or any other members of its cast or crew.