Auto Shankar Kannada Movie
Kannada film industry is now presenting a rosy picture as many films are qualitatively showing improving steps. The box office collections have also been quite encouraging, but it has also seen an increased expectancy among the Kannada film viewers who are able to see many good films from other languages. But unfortunately some big film producers refuse to take bait from such a good opportunity and make the same type of old formula films. Their budgets will be big, they will be able to assemble a bigger star cast, but the narration and story of the film will lack the freshness. The films will depend on the charismatic star value than the quality of the story. Upendra starred “Auto Shankar’ released now is one such film.
Producer Ramu and Director D.Rajendra Babu has depended solely on their leading star’s major strength in the dialogue delivery and also Shilpa Shetty’s sex appeal. “Auto Shankar’ is a masala film to the hit.
‘Auto Shankar’ also proves another thing. Its storywriter Ajay Kumar has a mental make up of fifties and has not yet recharged his batteries to look at what has been happening now. All the characters portrayed have nothing new to convey except that they wear some modern day dresses. All the characters in the film shout at the rooftops what they could have conveyed in a normal voice. Some of the characters are really crude in their actions on the screen and it is difficult to accept some of the lady characters in the film are so boorish and tormenting.
‘Auto Shankar’ has a very thin story, which revolves around the confrontation between the hero and heroine brought up in different atmospheres. The hero is an auto driver brought up in a middle class environment, but he is friendly and jovial. But the heroine of the film who is brought up in a rich family background is boorish and loathsome to the hilt. She goes to any extent to recover the loan given to the poor and has designed various crude methods to recover the money. She is in fact the daughter of a moneylender lady don.
The hero takes sides with the poor and fights with the moneylender sharks. After many interesting battles between them, a sudden twist comes about when the heroine loses all her property and importance. She also comes to know that she is indeed not the real daughter of the moneylender don. Then she faces bad times and learns a hard lesson that crudeness and boorish behavior does not pay. She reforms and makes amends after which Hero embraces her. Meanwhile, there is another love affair where the second heroine dreams for the hero.
“Auto Shankar’ is one of those typical mass (or it masala) films which are made in style but lack substance. It may get some huge audience to the theatres. But a talented actor like Upendra and a proved director like Rajendra Babu could have done better, but they are certainly handicapped by the story of Ajay Kumar. Thankfully the technical support to the film is of fine quality. Guru Kiran’s music and Venu’s photography is of top class. But how can a film be good enough if the story and script of the film is weak?
Upendra is the major attraction of the film for the fans as his punch line dialogues are good. He also fights well. But it is Shilpa Shetty who claimed in the interviews that her role in the film is an ode to Gabbar Singh who has failed to deliver goods. She looks ravishing in the song sequences but she is found wanting in many important sequences of the film. Sadhu Kokila evokes some laughter in a comedy plot that is lifted from a Tamil film. All the other characters including well-known names like Sudharani and Radhika have no importance in the film. Radhika who is the leading heroine of the Kannada films has just two songs and a few nondescript sequences in the film. .
Upendra is a talented personality in the Kannada film industry and he should remember that the Kannada film audience would look at him for some more interest
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