Monday Oct 12 2009, Bangalore

'Bellary Naga'

Genre - Drama

Directed by - Dinesh Baboo

Produced by - K Manju

Music by - L N Shastry

Casts - Avinash, Chitra Shenoy, Shobharaj, Lakshmi Hegde, Rajesh and others

Starring - Vishnuvardhan, Manasi

For Vishnuvardhan fans, who are upset that their favourite star is not doing enough mass hero roles, 'Bellary Naga' will be a treat. The film has all the commercial ingredients in place and is a good entertainer.

'Bellary Naga' is a remake of Malayalam hit 'Raja Manickam', starring Mammooty in the lead. Vishnuvardhan plays Naga, a buffalo dealer based in Bellary. Vishwanath Gowda (Avinash), his step father, leaves a will that makes Naga the caretaker of all his wealth for the next 25 years. Gowda thinks that his son Rajegowda (Rajesh) and daughter (Lakshmi) are immature and unfit to take up the responsibility of managing his wealth. Naga comes from Bellary to fulfill the wishes of Gowda. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

It is a different film for Dinesh Baboo as well, as the director is known for making family-oriented comedies. Though there are some comic sequences, more emphasis has been given to sentiment and action. Dinesh Baboo has stuck to the original except for a few cosmetic changes here and there. The first half of the film moves at a brisk pace. And the second half is boring.

Vishnuvardhan has given a good performance as Naga, though his dialogue delivery and mannerisms in some sequences irk many.

Rajesh,in a full fledged negative role, is at his best in this film. There is nothing extraordinary to speak about Dinesh Baboo's camera work. But music director L N Shastry scores in background score.