Thai extravaganza on screen
Think Thailand and you are filled with images of the beach, smiling beauties, the unpredictable rains... But how many of us remember the Alcazar Show? For the veteran visitor to the country, there is no need to say a word about it. But for those who are not, well, it is nothing but a huge cultural extravaganza run by transvestites. Once you get over the shock, you will realise that the ‘women’ are so skilfully made up, that it hardly shows. Before long, you would have fallen in love with the ensemble pieces they present, including the Ramayana! 

Now, Sadhu Kokila, who has taken up direction again with Gange Baare Tunge Baare will take you there for a look at those fabulous dancers up close. Sadhu was so excited when he got to know of this extravaganza, that he got a plot woven into the original story, featuring hero Prajwal and the heroine and they are all set to fly out to Thailand next month.

Dream come true
If Shakti Prasad the don did not feature in last week’s column it was because we didn’t want to incur his wrath at being left at the bottom. However, the villain of all villains (or is he?) has finally consented to grace our pages and here we are! But wait, this is not the Shakti Prasad of yore, whose crinkly eyes and snarl brought goosebumps. He is not the father-in-law of Gentleman Arjun Sarja either. This is journalist Ravi Belagere who has finally made his dream come true of acting in a film with Varasdara. Ravi is known as Shakti Prasad, a benevolent don-patriarch who is the ultimate extra-judicial authority in the land. Did we hear someone say Sarkar?

True heir
But Varasdara is not just about Ravi Belagere. The film also speaks of his true heir, the Varasdara. And his heir is newcomer Sandeep Kumar. Trained under director Guru Deshpande, the wannabe star wants to prove his worth. Ditto his heroine Ashwini. However, there is a difference between the two—Ashwini is also acting in the film Dark!

Fifth time lucky?
Wonder why Ramya looks so pensive? Is it because she missed the State Best Actress award the fourth time? Well, if things turn out as expected, she may well be fifth time lucky. The actress has been denied the award time and again for not dubbing for her roles herself. However, Meera Madhava Raghava director T N Seetharam had promised that Ramya would be dubbing for her role in his film. If that promise holds good, then Ramya will have a much more realistic chance of winning the State award next time.

That zing in the voices
Speaking of MMR, director T N Seetharam seems to have achieved a rarest of rare feat. He not only got Hamsalekha to compose for him, but also insisted and got only Kannadigas (or those fluent in the language) to sing for his film. And the result? A refreshing but a trifle disappointing change. For Hams had once shared his exasperation at not finding quality talented singers in the homeground, with us. However, in MMR Hams has made extensive use of singers who have been shining in the light music stage so far. While there is nothing out-of-ordinary special quality in the music, fresh voices have added that zing to an otherwise regular fare.

Driving home the message
Minister Cheluvarayaswamy is short of drivers, thanks to the ambition of his car driver Pratap, who wanted to be a hero. After getting the green signal from the minister, Pratap is now one of the heroes of Neenolida Kshanadinda.

It naturally follows that the film contains a ‘message’ about the harmful consequences of drunken driving. The other hero of the film is Sudheer. Both of them are new to the industry with practically no experience in acting. However, neither seemed bothered as both were confident that their director Ashik would bail them out. Which seems to be true as the director, it is heard is giving the two regular acting lessons before each shot.

However, Alisha, the heroine seems to be the most confident of the trio. This is, after all, her second project, the first being Yuga Yugagale Sagali. A Kishore Namit Kapoor student, Alisha seems keen to put all she learnt to good use here.

Of inspirations
Varasdara seems very much similar to the Ram Gopal Verma flick but then ain’t all of them clones of The Godfather, the original? Ravi Belagere himself pointed this out at the muhurat. And with the greasepaint on, he did display the look of nervous delight. His delight went up a notch when Muthappa Rai, walked in to wish him the very best.
Actor Ramesh and IAS official Ravindranath Tagore were among the others who wished the team grand success. The film is said to be ‘inspired’ by what else? One of Belagere’s books on the underworld. This was director Guru Deshpande’s take.