Set things right any which way

CID Eesha
Kannada (U) **
Director: Rajesh
Cast: Jaggesh, Rangayana Raghu, Komal, Avinash and others

There was a time when the Jaggesh brand of comedy worked big time with the audiences flocking to theatres, savouring double entendres and the Navarasanayaka’s mannerisms.

Other flaws like the director’s inability to retain coherence or maintain credibility among others, would be mostly forgotten. But everything has its shelf life before turning into collectibles.

“CID Eesha”, inspired by Malayalam film “CID Moosa”, may very well be on its way to become another Jaggesh collectible. Dragged down by incessant delays in the making, the film suffers majorly from lack of cohesion in stringing the scenes together.

Jaggesh performs to the galleries quite well, with younger brother Komal and Rangayana Raghu keeping company, but he cannot lift the film that’s losing the plot in a hurry. Right from the beginning it is clear that the director has let his actors do all the job while trying to get a grip on what he had conceived.

The “non-climax” caps his misadventure and surprises many — the editor might have suddenly woken up from monotony-induced stupor. A grievously wounded chief minister who appears amused while having revolvers pointed at his head sure beats a logical end any day!

But “CID Eesha” has plenty to offer. Viewed in isolation, dog lovers will enjoy watching labrador Daala even if having a song mainly dedicated for its recovery is stretching things a bit.

Daala seems to love the camera and gives an uninhibited performance only to vanish in the second half — sniff! Mayuri (Flora) Saini doesn’t register as the film’s heroine. Sudarshan, Bank Janardhan, Neenaasam Ashwath, Lakshman, Srinivasamurthy, Chidanand and Harish Rai are relegated to wallflowers but the brothers’ antics are few and far between. Vijayabharathi’s uninspiring music seems “inspired” by Rahman’s tunes and little else.

Jaggesh fans will surely watch the film, nay, only those scenes that remind them again why the star is loved so much. The rest can give it a miss.