Sunday, December 19, 1999

DALAVAYEE

(Kannada)

At Triveni

In a genre where slam-bang shoot outs and fisticuffs rule the roost at the box-office, Dalavayee, a dialogue-driven action thriller comes as a respite for the Kannada movie-buffs.

A remake of the Satyaraj-starrer Tamil hit Walter Vetrivel , this flick in Kannada is well crafted and neatly presented.

The movie is all about a sincere police officer and his adventures to book the criminals under law.

The film revolves around the hero - B C Patil - who incidentally happens to be cop in real life too. He has done a commendable job in boosting the image of the cops, which hitherto had taken a beating in the hands of the Kannada film makers. No, the cops are not clowning around this time. For a change, they are depicted as intelligent and law abiding, which augers well with the story-line.

The film is a one-man show all the way. IPS officer B C Patil, who earns the title of Dalavayee for his honest, sincere and successful exploits, is entrusted the job of cracking a gang indulged in kidnapping girls.

Dalavayee does not belong to the genre of cops who are out to eliminate criminals or reform them. He is a cop acting in a typical police manner, which seems to be quite natural in the present context.

The hero faces a lot of hurdles, and political high-handedness scuttle his investigations though his very own father (Ashwath) is an honest home minister.

Dalavayee comes across Sumathi (Vijayalakshmi), the heroine, who has managed to escape from the clutches of the kidnappers. She is the only person, who knows the identity of the kidnappers. While she lands up in the arms of Dalavayee the kidnappers are all set to hunt her down.

Dalavayee falls in love with Sumathi and marries her and now has the additional responsibility of safeguarding her. The rest of the film is about the kidnappers` plots to finish off Sumathi. He finally succeeds in nailing the culprits.

Though the film is action-based, it comes out clean as an entertainer minus heavy doses of violence and gory scenes. There is no overdose of violence or fights. Dialogue, particularly the ones delivered by B C Patil, are crisp and sharp. It seems like Hamsalekha has regained his touch for melodious music. A couple of songs are chiming and memorable.

It would be a great loss for the Kannada film industry if Ashwath decides to call it quits again. His superlative performance deserves more than just acolades and laurels. B C Patil is excellent at times.

Vijayalakshmi holds great promise. A brief appearance by Vinod Raj in a dance sequence (performed by Prabhu Deva in the Tamil version) does not have any impact on the movie as the pre- release publicity hype claimed. It was Walter Vetrivel due to which Prabhu Deva shot into the limelight.

If you are an action-film buff and want to see cops working with a lot of commitment, this is the movie.

ARAVIND GOWDA