For decades, the Kannada audience have lapped up love stories with distinct qualities.
Great performances, melodious songs and strong climax were catalysts for the roaring success of ‘Naa Ninna Mareyalare’ (1976), ‘Bandhana’ (1984), ‘Premaloka’ (1987), ‘Mungaru Male’ (2006) and ‘Sanju Weds Geetha’ (2011), to name a few.
Even in the pandemic-hit year, it was two romantic dramas ‘Dia’ (2020) and ‘Love Mocktail (2020) that won the hearts of Kannada cinema loyalists.
Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Showtime looks at the most awaited romantic flicks from Sandalwood.
Love Mocktail 2
After having killed Nidhi, an irresistible and easily the best character of ‘Love Mocktail’, the makers have a humungous challenge of retaining the film’s charm in the sequel.
The absence of the crackling chemistry between real-life couple Darling Krishna and Milana Nagaraj will be a major miss as the film has a new heroine in Rachel David. If director Krishna can once again smartly package a love story with a good dose of humour, interesting characters and leave the college crowd with a warm, fuzzy feeling, ‘Love Mocktail 2’ will work wonders at the box-office.
Gaalipata 2
The fact that many movie buffs rate ‘Gaalipata’ (2008) over ‘Mungaru Male’ is a testimony to the film’s classic-like quality. Notwithstanding Yogaraj Bhat’s undisputed strength of writing refreshing dialogues, one can’t deny that love is the backbone of his stories.
Trademark Bhat-film features like continuous rib-tickling comedy, wonderful locales and good music are expected from the sequel. Comparisons are bound to happen and hope Bhat doesn’t disappoint. With Ganesh leading the ensemble cast, the industry will be praying for another romantic gem from the famous actor-director duo.
Ek Love Ya
Sometimes, working with newcomers can be a blessing in disguise for directors struggling for form. Prem hasn’t enjoyed a blockbuster since ‘Jogi’ (2004). After ‘The Villain’ (2018) failed to live up to expectations, Prem has gone back to a love story with a young cast.
The director will be eyeing a hit like ‘Excuse Me’ (2003) but a lot depends on his approach to storytelling which desperately needs to suit the current taste of the audience. He has a knack of getting superb love songs from his composers. ‘Ek Love Ya’ must aim to be more than just a good album.
For now, Rachita Ram, who smokes and later locks lips with the hero in the teaser, has provided good-enough buzz for the film.
Sapta Sagaradaache Ello
When was the last time Kannada cinema witnessed a full-fledged classy love story? Hemanth M Rao’s film could end the long wait. From what we see in ‘Simpallag Ondh Love Story’ (2013) to his performance in ‘Kirik Party’ (2016), Rakshit Shetty has made drastic improvement in handling romantic dramas. The film is a unison of two passionate film minds.
After having succeeded in drama (‘Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu’, 2016) and thriller (‘Kavaludaari’, 2019), Hemanth would be keen to ace the romance genre as well.