'Moorane Krishnappa' movie review: A rib-tickling fable with winning performances

Directed by Naveen Reddy, ‘Moorane Krishnappa’ narrates a simple story of rivalry set in a small village in Karnataka.

Veeranna (Rangayana Raghu) is a small-time politician. To beat Loki (Ugramm Manju) in the upcoming elections, he plans to woo voters by building a temple and hosting a grand inauguration by a celebrity.

When this ploy fails, he turns to Krishnappa, a timid and meek mathematics teacher, for help. A reluctant Krishnappa gets instant fame when he promises to bring the chief minister down for the inauguration. His life changes: even the stingy tea shop owner declines money from him.

However, things change. The film is set in Anekal, just on the outskirts of Bengaluru, and the Anekal dialect of Kannada is what sets the film apart. The characters tickle you until you laugh your guts out. For all its merits, Moorane Krishnappa falls short in the second half. With a shift in the narrative — Krishnappa now has to prove himself — it gets a bit preachy. But overall, it doesn’t disappoint.

A question remains. Why do films set in rural landscapes look down on city-bred people? Although the sequences are funny, they sometimes come across as downright insults. Even ‘Tagaru Palya’, a delightful comedy released last year, seems slightly flawed because of this.

A lot in comedy depends on the treatment, the performances, and the dialogue delivery. Some dialogues that could have been offensive are delivered in a way that leaves you smiling. The film ends with an important message for elected representatives. The timing is perfect, since parliamentary elections are done and the results will be out on June 4.

Rangayana Raghu charms and entertains all through the film with his quirkiness and humour. Sampath Maitreya impresses with his innocence. Each character has a distinctive style and body language. Ugramm Manju is a campy villain. Adding to all this is the film’s cinematography (Yogendra Prasad) and music (Anand Rajavikram and Suprith Sharma) that capture the essence of rural life.

It is hard to believe that Naveen Reddy is the same director who made the inane 2016 Kannada film, Akira. He has definitely come a long way.