Mirage of assimilating values into reality

Kurmavataara
Kannada (U) ****
Director: Girish Kasaravalli
Cast: Dr Shikaripura Krishnamurthy, Jayanthi and others

Director Kasaravalli’s latest offering, Kurmavataara is finally releasing in the multiplexes at least with typical disdain towards the paying fan’s desire to access some of the best cinema at an affordable rate.

If this niggle, and the rest, are kept aside, what confronts the audience is the now-eternal dilemma: is it really worth sticking to ethics, morals, values and the like or is it better to be going with the flow while smothering one’s conscience?

Summing up the essence of Kurmavataara in just these words won’t do justice to what Kasaravalli has set about to do with the film. A government servant on the verge of retirement is forced to come under the arc lights all thanks to his looks that resemble the Mahatma Gandhi.

His family (son, daughter-in-law and grandson) is excited, colleagues are incredulous, the boss is conscious of the public “outcry” if he penalises his subordinate for deviating from his duties... Rank strangers are delighted just to stop the frail, nondescript man, chat him up and leave with an autograph here and a photograph there, their days made for a long time to come.

Can favour-seekers be left behind? Right from his son and daughter-in-law, who dream of bettering their lives, to Anand Rao’s ex-boss’ son’s friend who runs a shop against rules to the locality’s residents with their woes, everyone wants a share of the “power” vested in this simple man who knows he is a bad actor (without getting reminded about it constantly by the serial crew), is shy to the point of appearing detached and who is worse than any workaholic in his dedication to his work.

With all innocence born out of years of adhering to principles and shutting out an increasingly unscrupulous society, Rao is drawn into wielding influence he is unaware of. He puts his foot down when his son pockets the endorsement money without a hoot towards his father.

But Rao loses more than he had bargained for while claiming his moral victory. Was it all worth in the end?

The cynic in us all will definitely settle for this question — an escape from a conscience nurtured since childhood by parents and a simpler society.  But Kurmavataara also calls upon individuals to do their duty and abide by their values if only to leave a slightly less ravished and depraved society behind for the coming generations.

G S Bhaskar’s play with light and shadow and Isaac Thomas Kootukapalli’s music have a major say in shaping the audience perception. Language used is also very close to common man rather than pretending to be real — a lingo slowly vanishing from Bangalore’s soul.

Kasaravalli also gets full credit for discovering his Gandhi — Dr Shikaripura Krishnamurthy carries the film, as expected, on his stooping, frail shoulders. Actress Jayanthi and to an extent the tortoise, act as his conscience-keepers at various times. Each of the supporting cast turn in a fine performance.

In Kanasemba Kudureyaneri, Kasaravalli had poked inside the psyche of the rural man while in “Kurmavataara” it is the suave urbanite who undergoes sharp scrutiny. But does it suffice for the moment?