A preachy flick on beggars with a formulaic romance

Amma, I Love You

Kannada (U/A)

Director: K M Chaitanya

Cast: Chiranjeevi Sarja, Nishvika Naidu, Sitara, Chikkanna

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5 stars)

K M Chaitanya's new flick Amma, I Love You is a remake of the Tamil film Picchaikaran (beggar). Even though the title seems to suggest a shift from the main theme of begging, the crux remains the same as the Tamil original.

Now the question is: apart from the fact that the Tamil flick was a success, is there something else in the film, either in the story or the way its told, that merits a Kannada adaptation?

Siddhu (Chiru Sarja), son of a multi-millionaire businesswoman Annapoorna (Sitara), takes over the reins of the empire after returning from his graduation abroad.

Unlike any other textiles factory, the owner here is loved by all employees, and she reciprocates this emotion equally. But tragedy strikes this perfect setting, and leaves Annapoorna comatose.

A devastated Siddu happens to cross paths with a godman, who asks him to leave everything behind for 48 days and lead a life of beggary. This will, the godman claims, help the mother recover.

With this pretentious pretext, the film, and our hero, is opened up to a world of beggars and baddies, while a love story unfolds parallely.

Even if you agree that a loving son would defy all logic and do anything to get his mother back to good health, the events that unfold after Siddhu starts living solely on alms are very commonplace and sometimes yawn-worthy.

While the director tries to take a compassionate and humanistic view on beggars and the act of begging, the usual trap of forcing jokes into the narrative distracts the film from such efforts.

The sequence where gangsters try to beat Siddhu to death but — as usual — get beaten up instead misses the charm and realism of Aa Dinagalu, a 2007 gangster movie made by Chaitanya.

A romantic track with hotel entrepreneur Bindu falling in love with Siddhu and the confusion that ensues owing to his concealed identity is also predictable.

There are also a few songs on love for mothers and compassion for beggars that somewhat catch your attention.

Chiru Sarja does his best, both in his role and in the action sequences. But the film is weakened by melodramatic sequences, uncaptivating events and a very predictable storyline.

One takeaway from the film is the compassionate stance it takes on marginalised sections, although it does tend to get preachy.