Sagar

Knots, plots and lots of fun

Kannada (U/A)
Cast: Prajwal Devaraj, Radhika Pandit, Sanjana, Haripriya
Director: M D Shridhar

A joint family that marries among its kin to retain the bond, two cousins who do not want to marry each other and a damsel in distress. Throw in a bitter rival and an international don and you have Shridhar’s Sagar.

Prajwal Devaraj is Sagar, the fun-loving son of tycoon Rajashekhara Murthy (Avinash), who’s scheduled to get hitched to cousin Priyanka (Haripriya). To escape impending doom, Sagar hatches a plan and thwarts his family’s plans. But he has overlooked the most crucial element in his plan: Kajol (yes, it is Kajol, not Kajal).
A friend’s friend, Kajol is his ‘dream’ girl who really materialises in his house. Sagar is frustrated, Priyanka jealous while Kajol plays it cool. Or does she?

Shridhar’s screenplay could have cut out the Sonu Nigam song which hinders the pace of the narrative, but commerce gets its due.

Except for superimposition of the characters on stock footage which constricts the camerawork somewhat, KK finds relief back ‘home’. Gurukiran and Rajesh Ramanath go hammer and tongs at the instruments (read technology) under their disposal and add energy to the story flow. B A Madhu is in full form. The fights are choreographed well. Mohan B Kere and team is good while editing is tight.

Prajwal, the actor, grows along with his waistline. Sanjana conveniently gets bumped off pretty early in the film and Haripriya fills the screen but is again content with relegation. Radhika gets the meaty part which she plays with cool detachment. Avinash, Sharath Lohitashwa, Vinaya Prakash, Adi Lokesh and the rest are adequate. Dev Gill projects raw aggression, but only just.

Sagar is more about emotions than just about the hero, deftly handled. A frothy entertainer at its best.