Movie: Love (Kannada)

Director: Mahesha C Ammallidoddy

Cast: Prajay Jayaram, Vrusha Patil, Rajath Shetty, Umesh Theli, and Hareesh Shetty

Duration: 133 minutes

Certificate: UA

Rating: Three out of five

There is no shortage of movies made on the relationship between a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl in Sandalwood. Navarasa Nayaka aka minimum guarantee star Jaggesh is known for acting in such movies. There is a movie with similar title - Love – in which Aditya and Rakshita were the lead pair and it was released in July 2004.

The latest Kannada movie Love, claimed to be based on true events, is about the love between a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl. The problem with this movie is that it fails to justify the reason why both of them fall in love.

The movie opens with a camera focusing on a mosque and a Hindu temple. The very next scene is Swastik (Prajay Jayaram), a Hindu youth, is seen busy smoking a cigarette near a petty shop on a road. Meanwhile, Zoya (Vrusha Patil), a Muslim girl, is seen walking on the road making groaning sounds and gestures. Zoya is on the way to college. Swastik enquires Zoya the reason for groaning and asks her whether she suffers menstrual cramps. Swastik brings Whisper sanitary pad and gives it to Zoya and also advises her to use the nearby public toilet. The next scene is when Zoya comes out of the public toilet with a smile and tries to locate Swastik but in vain.

Meanwhile, Swastik`s parents advise him to get married to a Hindu girl but he says that he is not in a hurry to get married. Zoya happens to see Swastik at her college. He tells her that she is beautiful and it is more than enough for her to fall in love with him. Zoya`s parents come to know about her love affair. What happens to Zoya and Swastik is what all about the movie Love.

Love is the second movie for Mahesha C Ammallidoddy as a director. He tried his best to make watching Love interesting by including other elements – friendship, infidelity, and suspicion. He has also tried to showcase how some youth of a particular community prefer friendship than religion or community.

Most of the actors are newcomers. Prajay Jayaram and Vrusha Patil have acted well. Rajath Shetty, who played Syed, provides good support. Umesh Theli, who played the psycho security guard, is convincing as a villain.

Cinematographer Siddarth H R has done an excellent job behind the camera. Music by Sai Sri Kiran and Roshit Vijayan is an added value to this movie.

Had the director ensured screenplay crisp during the pre-intermission and avoided repetition of a few scenes, the move Love would have been a good movie among the movies released recently.

It is worth watching for youth who crave for love-oriented movies.