Even a bad film is capable of evoking emotions and captivating the audience. Although flawed, they have their moments. But Pushpa Arunkumar’s debut production ‘Kothalavadi’ fails to create even the slightest cinematic experience.
‘Kothalavadi’ begins with a junk-shop owner Babanna (Gopalkrishna Deshpande) pushing the people of his village into an illegal sand mining business. He tells them anything within their village limits belongs to them and they should use it to earn their living. Soon the plot shifts to establishing our hero Mohana (Pruthvi Ambaar), Babanna’s right hand. After that, the film switches focus to Babanna’s dreams of having a successful political career, and the lengths he can go to, to achieve it. At the centre of it all are two cops trying their best to do the village some good. The film continuously shifts from tackling one issue to the other, thus leaving one wondering what the director is trying to say or show through the film.
The film has all the elements of a commercial entertainer — a love story, action sequences and songs... But the film neither exhausts you nor delights you.
Despite a compelling performance from Gopal Deshpande, ‘Kothalavadi’ fails to captivate you. It does elicit some giggles, but one is unsure if one is laughing at them or with them.
The dialogues between the couple are cheesy and the action sequences, over the top.
Poorly written scenes, unrealistic dialogues and a long preachy monologue at the end further bogs down the movie.
I wouldn’t say a great opportunity is lost because there is hardly anything unique about it!