Kousalya Supraja Rama

Shashank's new directorial narrates the story of Rama (Darling Krishna) who is brought up to be a toxic male, following his father Siddegowda's (Rangayana Raghu) footprints while his innocent mom Kousalya (Sudha Belawadi) compromises her entire life for their sake. His love story with Shivani (Brinda Acharya) ends on an obvious note owing to his behavior and he ends up marrying Muthulakshmi (Milana Nagaraj), a raging alcoholic. How Rama learns his mistakes and saves his marriage forms rest of the story.

Amidst all the newcomers, Shashank has come up with a solid film to prove the old timers still have the right charm to deliver good films. The screenplay is the winner here as the key emotion involved delivers big time. The first half has a decent pace establishing Rama's character and his predicament due to toxic masculinity. There is enough humor too mainly provided by Santhu played by Nagabhushan. Pre-interval portions are heavy on sentiment as the pace drops to ensure the right impact.

It is the second half with the introduction of Milana Nagaraj's character that brings in non-stop entertainment with Nagabhushan too contributing through his counters. The humor is elevated here with few hilariously delivered lines. Here too, the emotional angle works well and the third act is handled very sensibly, hitting it hard. Barring the one Sonu Nigam song and probably the title track in the end, remaining songs fail to leave any impact and the film definitely deserved better songs.

With good performances and a terrific screenplay, Shashank has hit it out of the park making Kousalya Supraja Rama as one of the best films to release this year and a must watch. Highly recommended.

There was a time when KFI would boast of stories like America America, Amruthavarshini, Nammoora Mandaara Hoove etc. That phase ended long back. It was only Shashank who still stood against the tide and made movies which didn't appeal to masses.

This cinema didn't have a greatly-cut trailer. But it does have a story that resonates with almost every class of audiences that watches it. Many have praised the performances already, but to me, it is the writing and direction that have made everything else possible.

A multi-layered story, very entertaining screenplay, hilarious scenes especially in the second half and witty one-loners throughout. Honestly, script is the stage in which the cinema was half won I guess.

This is more like 2nd innings to Shashank, who went through a bad phase for more than 6 years. Hope, we get to see his new form in the next movies too.

Watched the best family entertainer yesterday.

Positives of the movie:

Performances - Nagabhushan, Rangayana Raghu and Milana Nagraj will take awards home for their flawless performances. Sudha Belawadi is so natural that one feels like watching their mother on the screen. Darling Krishna's best cinema outside Love Mocktail zone.

Direction - Shashank is back with his best work yet. Though his previous cinemas were blockbusters, humour was something that he hadn't tried. This cinema is humorous to the core. He has proved yet again that he is the go to director for complete family entertainers today.

Writing - Brilliant story. One liners are crazy, comedy scenes are hilarious especially in the second half. Emotional scenes make your eyes wet. Dialogues in those scenes break you down. Overall, amaaazing job by a newbie.

Music - second half is super hilarious and emotional because of the tempo that music has set. AJ has elevated scenes to another level. Song placement in the cinema is perfect every time.

Negatives:

A few scenes in the First half could have been trimmed. Like, it could have been better in the first 15 minutes of the cinema

Songs should have been chartbusters. These are just above average/good.

Would have loved to see more scenes of Sudha and Rangayana Raghu.

Overall, this is the best cinema in recent times. A comeback movie for Darling Krishna and Milana. Shashank too is back after a very dry phase of 6-7 years. Watch it. This is the best cinema and the most sensible cinema of late.

When you walk out of the theatre, you will definitely carry the feeling of watching a complete cinema. This will be a longstanding movie in theatres The female emotions are well understood and well utilised to tell a story. For the first time the film shows who the real hero is. One who fights for something meaningful. Loaded with emotions. Emotional scenes-Emotional songs-Emotional inner fights. Good film! First half and Second half are very well welded. Good songs-Good message! Pleasing photography. Awesome acting. Excellent emotions. Super songs. Must watch film! Story is simple. Screenplay is super. Dialogues are wonderful. Film is fantastic!

I had my own set of doubts about this cinema. So, here is how my weekend went:

28th July - Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahaani 29th July - Achar and Co 30th July - Kousalya Supraja Rama

One thing is surprisingly common in all these three cinemas. They have attempted to speak about patriarchy and sort of women's perspective about the same. On a lighter note, why don't we call July 28th the "men and women's day"?!!

Though this was the cinema I watched in the last, I feel, this is the best among all the three and hence a 10 on 10. A massy yet classy narrative built around the inherited patriarchy is a serious take on the most sensitive subject. But the point is, the narrative is rib-tickling and at the same time heart-wrenching.

I read other reviews, where people have already spoken about the performances, direction and everything else. To me, the writing was the highlight. Every single character behaved distinctively from each other. The lines they spoke, the way they reacted, the points of realisation etc.

Holistically, everything that was written was heartfelt. Some brilliant one-liners, deep statements which evoked laughter in one scene and made us think twice in the other. Just brilliant!

I hope more Kannada directors come up with something as meaningful and as entertaining as this cinema. Cheers!!