JOIN US‘Karanjji’ is not ‘Rock On’, thank God! People may draw comparisons but apart from an inspired scene here and there, there is no need to worry about a shoddily made remake. For ‘Karanjji’ is a swamake (original) alright. The film records the happenings of the band Karanji in its quest towards fame. Throw in a love story, dose of resentment and reconciliation and ‘Karanjji’ has spouted forth and stopped. Love towards Kannada is well showcased without being preachy. But this proves to be one of the only few highlights of the film. The others are the locales beautifully captured by Guruprashant Rai and the absence of vulgarity and melodrama.
Director Shreedhar squanders away a wonderful chance to reacquaint today’s youth with the beauty of music. Composer Veer Samarth’s tunes stand out as a sore thumb - the bit pieces are better than the actual songs. The comedy track appears to be half-hearted. Trying to keep the film clean, the director seems to have sterilised the entire story which is a pity. The film’s stifling pace is another setback. All the band members are good but Gauri is miscast and Sudha Belawadi, Chandrashekhar are all wasted, a result of inadequate characterisation.
Too bad this ‘Karanjji’ fails to bubble forth.