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Mandya: Darshan carries it on his shoulders

January 10, 2006 20:22 IST

Darshan is the star of Kannada films. He is an actor whose films run consistently run, weak plots notwithstanding.
Unfortunately his charisma is not being put to proper use by the producers and directors. Mandya directed by Om Prakash Rao is no exception. The film's weak script fails to generate interest among the viewers because of a weak script. 

Mandya is a district in Karnataka, known as the sugar bowl of the state. But the film lacks sweetness and is full of blood, violence and cheap sex show by the two lead actresses. 

Mandya is a product of the Om Prakash Rao factory that remixes story ideas and powerful sequences from many non-Kannada films. Mandya reminds you of many sequences of successful Telugu films like Indra, Sambha and Channakeshava Reddy. 

Some sequences are directly lifted from Vijay starrer Tamil film Madura. Rao has always specialised in remixing sequences and presenting a collage as a new story compiled by the film's producer. 

Darshan hails from a respected family of Mandya. Darshan's popularity irks another family and a friction ensues between the two.

The police chief of the district advises the warring leaders to go out of the district to the city for six months. Hence, Darshan
comes to Bangalore with his family and is engaged in a business.  Meanwhile he learns that poor people are being troubled by his opponents. He returns to Mandya  to warn his opponents that he will not tolerate any injustice. He vanquishes the villains and delivers a speech where he calls for peace in the district.  

Darshan, as usual, looks good on screen. His fight sequences are sure to bring cheer to his fans, but he is handicapped by the weakness of the story. His lead actresses Rakshitha and Radhika have nothing much to do apart from showing their cleavage. Rakshitha looks fat in the song sequences.  

Music director Guru Kiran has once again failed to deliver good music for the film. Fight composer Palani Raj has done a good job.

R G Vijayasarathy in Bangalore