'Dollu' movie review: An encouraging take on preserving tradition

The film is a tale of Dollu Kunitha, a waning folk tradition involving bombastic drum beats, dance and devotion in perfect synergy.

Dollu

Kannada (Theatres)

Director: Sagar Puranik

Cast: Karthik Mahesh, Babu Hirannaiah and Nidhi Hegde

SCore: 3.5/5

Pravaha (2004), and Bharat Stores (2013), the two award-winning Kannada feature films, dealt with the onslaught of globalisation and urbanisation on local merchants and rural artisans. They advocated the need for a transformation with changing times even as they stressed the significance of reviving the tradition.

‘Dollu’, by debutant Sagar Puranik, is on similar lines. The film has bagged 17 awards across national and international festivals, including the National Award for Best Kannada Film. It’s a tale of Dollu Kunitha, a waning folk tradition involving bombastic drum beats, dance and devotion in perfect synergy.

The film, set in a rural milieu, deals with the life of Bhadra, a young Dollu dance performer. For Bhadra’s father, Dollu Kunitha has sanctity, and it should not be used for money nor be performed by women.

Bhadra and his friends perform Dollu Kunitha, for meagre earnings, which attracts the wrath of his father. The friends give up Dollu Kunitha and relocate to Bengaluru for better earnings. Left alone, Bhadra vows to ensure that the art survives and the annual performance at the temple continues.

He sets out to Bengaluru, intending to bring back his friends, just for four days for the annual performance. However, they dismiss his idea as they would lose money for being away from work.

Will Bhadra succeed in staging an annual performance without his friends? Is there any hope for the art? These questions finds answers in climax.

Sagar uses powerful images to portray conflict between an aged father and a young son. Aspects like passion and inevitability, tradition and modernity are weaved well into the story. He spins the climax with his feministic approach. It’s a tad predictable though.

Abhilash Kalathi’s cinematography captures the rhythm, movement and sheer pulsating energy of the dance. Ananth Kamath M’s soundtrack is soothing. Karthik Mahesh, Nidhi Hegde and Sharanya Suresh deliver powerful performances.

The film’s pace slackens a bit while treatment of the topic of migration is incomplete. Absence of intense movements or heart-wrenching scenes are the drawbacks of Dollu.