Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal has been standing as the epitome of love and sacrifice for years. Like the real one, the film Taj Mahal also will remain in the hearts of audiences for a long time for its near-perfect portrayal of a love story. Director R. Chandru has narrated the story without the apprehensions of a newcomer and handled the nuances in film making pretty well. The film, which does not boast of a super hero or famous music director, has been very well made; the thin story line has been complemented very well by the added twists and turns in the second half.

Taj Mahal, as the name suggests, is a tragic love story. Ajay (Ajay Rao) is madly in love with his college mate Shruthi (Pooja Gandhi), but he is too timid to reveal his feelings. Every morning, he greets Shruthi with a ‘good morning’; he has even recorded the number of times he has greeted her in the past three years in his diary. Finally, Ajay takes the courage to befriend Shruthi. Her friendly nature and her gift of a cap make Ajay think that Shruthi reciprocrates his love. But he soon finds out that it was a misconception. Shruthi slaps him when Ajay reveals his love for her. Now Ajay learns that Shruthi is in love with Kumar. But in a short flashback, we are shown that Ajay himself is Kumar. Ajay had once recovered the lost suitcase of Shruthi’s father and when Shruthi contacted him to express thanks, he had given his name as Kumar; subsequently the two slowly becomes friends through phone conversations. The film turns interesting from here. Ajay tries hard to convince Shruthi that he is Kumar. Does he succeed in convincing Shruthi? If so, what happens next? You have to watch the film to get the rest of the story. That the film does not follow a predictable route makes it worthwhile to watch.

Ajay Rao has a solid role to play and he does not disappoint. He has fit into the role quite comfortably and his costumes also look stylish and modern. Pooja Gandhi, as always, is a pleasure to watch. Ananth Nag and Rangayana Raghu give good support to the lead pair.

One thing that makes Taj Mahal outstanding is brilliant camera work by K.S. Chandrasekhar. Both indoor and outdoor locales have been captured with the same care and diligence. The music is possibly the best that Abhiman has scored so far in his three-year career. All three songs are worth repeated listening and are picturised well.

Direction      R. Chandru
Production     Shiva Shankar Reddy
Cinematography     K.S. Chandrasekhar
Music     Abhiman
Cast     Ajay Rao, Pooja Gandhi, Ananth Nag, Rangayana Raghu, Padmaja Rao,
Suresh Mangalore, Aravind, Kurigalu Sunil