JOIN USGalaate
Kannada (U)
Director: M D Kaushik
Cast: Prajwal Devaraj, Kruti Kharbanda, Haardika Shetty, Shashi Kumar, Tara, Shobhraj, Suman Ranganath
Galaate attempts to be a comedy of errors while cramming in as many twists and songs as possible. The hotch-potch leaves behind a lingering exasperation at the director.
Abhi falls for best friend Ankita’s friend Shalini, a model, and writes to her, expressing his feelings. The letter, however, doesn’t reach Shalini but his sister-in-law who suspects her lecturer husband of having an affair in college. The letter goes on a mini journey and is read by the vivacious, sexy college principal. Another letter, written by Ankita on behalf of Abhi, lands up in the principal’s handbag and from there in the hands of her police officer husband. Predictably, the respective spouses feel betrayed, enraged and are determined to catch the culprits in action — only to discover the Abhi-Shalini affair.
Misunderstandings are solved and the wedding date is fixed when Abhi and Shalini call off their relationship. Does the couple reunite? Does Abhi find his ‘true’ love? What happens to the model co-ordinator in love with Shalini? Galaate attempts to tie up all these loose ends.
The film shows how easy it is to stray from a committed relationship and its consequences. The song placement, particularly Ko Ko, has gone awry, bringing the story down with a thud now and then. Appears the director took a break with the songs. Jassie Gift’s music drowns out Kaviraj’s lyrics except in Buddhi illa, the now-mandatory Sonu Nigam song which again is poorly conceptualised.
Coming to actors, Suman Ranganath takes the cake, scorching the oomph meter, which neither of the girls can pull off, even in skimpy dresses. Haardika makes quite a mark, playing the model with conviction and a little help from B A Madhu. Kharbanda sinks back into her usual set of expressions. Shashi Kumar and Shobhraj are good. Except in the Buddhi illa song, Prajwal shows maturity. Tara’s take on Sharapanjara Kalpana seems overboard and yet, is one of the enjoyable moments of the film.
Coming from a seasoned and intelligent director, the stretched out climax is a disappointment. This Galaate loses volume pretty quickly. Watch it for Suman and the rest.