A love story as old as the hills

'Mugilpete'

Kannada (Theatres)

Director: Bharath Navunda

Cast:Manoranjan Ravichandran, Kayadu Lohar

In Kannada cinema, one way to judge a director's ability is to see how he portrays comedian Sadhu Kokila. This actor has been stereotyped in silly and cringeworthy roles. 'Mugilpete' does nothing to change that.

For the umpteenth time, Sadhu plays this loud and weird comedian who gets insulted and beaten by the hero (Manuranjan Ravichandran). The film wastes so much time on this so-called comedy track.

Apart from this, 'Mugilpete' is a love story with zero freshness. Raj plays the macho hero who flexes his muscles to impress the heroine (Kayadu Lohar). Director Bharat Navunda is stuck with old ideas about how the hero should make a slow-mo entry and fall in love at first sight.

When trouble brews in the relationship, the film puts all the blame on the woman. She is shown as a possessive partner with no redeeming qualities.

'Mugilpete' fails to generate sensible arguments on arranged and love marriages. That is because the director wants the film to be a star debut vehicle for Manuranjan. The film tries to cash in on the legacy of his legendary father Ravichandran and, in the process, exposes the director's lack of original ideas.