Cast: V.Ravichandran, Jennifer Kotwal, Srikanth and Kamna Jethmalani
Direction: Om Sai Prakash
Production: Praveen, Venkatesh and Ganesh
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Every other day you can see a Kannada film producer is trying to argue that his film is certainly original or based on some Hollywood flick made four or five decades back. It is certainly gratifying to note that the producers of Ugadi had no hesitation in accepting that the film is a remake of Nagarjuna starred Telugu Hit Santhosham. And the director of the film is so faithful to the original that he has not tried to change anything from the original.
Unfortunately Ugadi is certainly not a match for its original film Santhosham. Despite its big star cast and huge making efforts, Ugadi still does not stand up to the expectations it had created. Director Sai Prakash should have really worked hard to bring out the same level of sensibilities that were seen in Santhosham. Frankly, Sai Prakash who has not been original even in his so called “original’ films, has failed to deliver goods in this remake film.
Ugadi music director R.P.Patnayak who had composed music for original film Santhosham has just copied the tunes of the original in this Kannada film. And Sai Prakash has just copied frame-to-frame shot of the original film and even the gestures of the artists have remained the same. Srikanth who had acted in the original film has acted in the same role in the Kannada film.
Many films have dealt with the issue of a young widower with a child unable to coming to terms with his death wife facing the dilemma of a second marriage. The story of Ugadi more or less deals with the same line. Ravichandran plays the role of an architect called Sanjay who elopes with his lover Kaveri after facing resistance from her family members. Kaveri (Kamna Jethmalani) dies later while delivering a baby. A Shattered Sanjay is yet to comer to terms with the death of his first wife when he comes across another girl Ramya (Jennifer) who is Kaveri’s cousin. Parents of Ramya want her to marry Arjun (Srikanth), but the girl wants to get closer to Sanjay. Sanjay refuses to respond to Ramya’s overtures and what happens later forms a good climax.
The main draw back the film is its slow paced narration. The comedy sequences lack the punch. The films second half also bores in the first half an hour, but later the tempo picks up. The director’s loyalty to the original film has helped him in getting the audiences back into his grip half an hour before the heart-rending climax.
Ravichandran is just passable in his role compared to high energetic performance of Nagarjuna. Kamna Jethmalani is better than Jennifer in the film. Kamna’s smile is captivating. Srinivasa Murthy has played the same type of role in many of his films. H C Venu’s camera work passes off muster. Patnayak’s composition is just lifting the tunes from his own work in Santhosham.
Ugadi is just another remake, which does not raise above ordinary levels, and certainly does not reach the standards of its original film.