Like father, like son
Mylari Kannada (U/A) Cast: Shivarajkumar, Sada, Suresh Mangalore Director: S Chandru
Mylari makes a promising beginning; a timid-looking Sada’s (Anitha) eyes add to the tears shed by an overcast sky. The scene then shifts to Shivanna (Mylari) receiving police ‘treatment’ and finally getting condemned to a visit by the hangman. A fight ensues between Mylari and the jailed thugs who are disposed off in nano seconds. The jailer is curious about this condemned man - he orders him to recount his tale before meeting his fate. A wistful Mylari obliges and the tale unspools...
Director Chandru has chosen the subject of parent-offspring dynamics, interspersed with a soft love story and retribution. But the attempt may not be liked by everybody as he kills the initial enthusiasm (Mylari is the Hattrick Hero’s 99th film) with a pace so slow that the cows would have returned for grazing the next morning! Maybe some like it this way–savouring each emotion, facial expression, body language et al in a leisurely manner.
Post-interval, the pace picks up and crime, vulgarity, Bangalore’s underbelly and of course, the politician-goon nexus all stand exposed.
There’s a homily on responsible politicking vis-a-vis the might of the journalist, who for once is not lampooned, even if imperfect. Mylari perks up audience interest and involvement the moment the hit song Mylapura Mylari comes onscreen, Shivanna outdoing a nimble-footed and pretty Sanjana (who is otherwise wasted).
The highlight of the entire film is perhaps the scene where a repentant Shivanna pleads with his stubborn father for forgiveness, indicating a wasted opportunity for the director to flesh out his characters and string his sequences well.
Sada looks famished, Rangayana Raghu and Guruprasad irritate and Suchendra Prasad’s mumbling doesn’t help his essay of villainy. The others are hardly missed.
Cinematography shines, while the same is not true of music. Shivanna fans will definitely love Mylari along with families of course.
