Debutant director Prabhu Srinivas who is an established dance choreographer in South cinema has come out with Jeeva, a Kannada film which has been largely inspired by a couple of Hollywood and Korean thrillers.
He seems to have made a montage borrowed from some of the most thrilling sequences from non-Kannada films to make up for an under worked script which has way too many loop holes.
Though the thrills are effective, the love story is tedious and tests your patience till the last few sequences.
Jeeva is a pampered and irresponsible college student who falls for Janaki, a middle class girl. Janaki dislikes Jeeva's brashness and rejects him initially. Jeeva's much respected politician father is also insulted by Janaki. Finally Janaki decides to marry Jeeva, but gets a shock when her lover rejects her. Jeeva starts behaving in a peculiar fashion and loses all his friends and well wishers. Why he behaves so forms the rest of the story.
The story lacks any fresh elements. The confusion created in a hospital through exchange of medical reports does not come as a surprise element in the film as it has already been seen in Kannada films like Anuraagadha Alegalu directed by S Narayan which was released in 1993. The same element is seen in many successful non-Kannada films including Telugu film industry's legendary actor Akkineni Nageshwara Rao's block buster film Premabhishekham.
Prabhu Srinivas narrates the story with the proceedings leading to one twist after another. Rather than engaging the audience, these sequences drag for ever.
Except for the last thirty minutes where the film gains some momentum, the whole venture is loosely narrated with drab sequences. The so called comedy sequences in the earlier part of the film look too amateurish. Though he has been backed well by competent music director like Guru Kiran -- the melodious number Summane Yaake Bandhe haunts long after the film is over -- and a talented cinematographer like Sabha Kumar, the director has not made any attempts to narrate his film in an effective manner.
Prajwal Devaraj makes a serious effort to portray his character well. Certainly this film is the best in his career so far. Newbie actress Ruthwa looks good on screen and has potential. Veteran artists Chandrashekhar and Gurudatt have acted well.
Watch Jeeva for Prajwal's neat performance and Guru Kiran's music.
Rediff Rating: