JANAPADA REVIEW
Could Have Been Presented Better

Film Review :JANAPADA

Review By CNB                              Date -  28th April  2007

Banner – Sri Baghirathi Enterprises
Producer – Panju Poojari
Story, Screeplay, dialogues, Direction – Prof. Baragur Ramachandrappa
Music: Hamsalekha
Editor: Suresh Urs
Cast – Raghava, Radhika and others.

In these days of globalization and reforms, the different forms of folk art is facing a big problem of extinction. The folk artists are receiving less attention because of the rapid growth of consumerisation. Baragooru Ramachandrappa takes this serious issue as the backdrop in creating a script for his recent film Janapada. Baragooru wants to show how the degeneration of the rich folk traditions and the neglect of the folk artists, but unfortunately does not succeed in his attempt mainly because of an utterly insipid script and a weak narration.

Baragooru is one of the best known writers of analytical pieces. And being one of the best speakers in Kannada he is also being referred to as a conscience keeper who can always present a different point of view. But unfortunately most of his films till date have never made an impact on the audience though he has always been taking serious issues in the backdrop of a story. Added to that his films always find it difficult to get theatrical release and Janapada is only his second film out of eight he has directed so far which has obtained theatrical release, though belatedly. But after seeing the film it can well be realized that but for a powerful producer like Panju Poojari, the film would not have hit the screens in the theatres.

The question is why films on serious issues can not be engaging and at the same time possess some commercial values to attract sizable number of audience. Malayalam film makers and some of the Telugu film directors have always tried to present a film with a serious issue which combines good artistic and commercial values. Unfortunately, a well known literary critic like Baragooru who claims Janapada as his first full blooded commercial film fails to make use of modern techniques and innovative story telling methods to drive home the point.

Look at the way the film is narrated. But for the handy cam used by the heroine of this film, the film could well be mistaken as a black and white film of sixties. And since the film has been shot in villages surrounding the holy Jain Shrine of Shravanabelagola, there are no visible evidences of modernity in the film. Thankfully the flash back scene does not start preceding the circles shown on the screen. You have all the stereotyped characters and mannerisms that relate to the sixties and early seventies. And in some of the sequences the director goes into a narration of a film documentary than a feature film.

Janapada tells the story of a folk singer Chandranna who feels that singing and entertaining people is more than any recognition of the government. His singing attracts many people including a city bred girl who decides to stay in the village to get to nearer to Chandranna. She also wants to see that Chandranna’s popularity extends beyond the barriers of his village. Meanwhile, Chandranna gets an award from the government. The village head, priest and a rival singer plot to defame the singer and spread some rumors. They even impose a ban on the singer who had to stay away from the people. Finally all the confusions are cleared and in a defining moment of glory, Chandranna joins a celebration in which folk artists from the state are present.

The new hero Raghava has tried to deliver his best, but he has been handicapped by lengthy dialogues. Glam girl Radhika is wasted. But popular television actress Nandini has made a mark. All the other characters in the film suffer from stereotyped mannerisms.

The technical values of the film are also ordinary. A story with a serious issue like protection of rural folk tradition could have been presented in a better fashion.

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