Kannada National award winning filmmaker Kavitha Lankesh has had a string of good films like Deveeri, Bimba and Preethi Prema Pranaya in the early part of her career. While her last film Thananam Thanananm was a big disappointment, Avva, her latest, which is based on her late father P Lankesh's novel Mussanjeya Katha Prasanga, marks the filmmaker's return to meaningful filmmaking.
Hats off to her for the authentic portrayal of today's rural life where caste system, politics and greed has taken over human values.
The filmmaker has stuck faithfully to the novel. All the characters -- Aane Baddi Rangavva, her daughter Savanthri and her boyfriend, Byaadara Manja -- are the same as in the novel as well as the kissing scene between Savanthri and Manja. She has even repeated the abusive language by Baddi Rangavva which was an integral part of the novel, and which was why the film got an 'A' certificate by the censor board.
After the dismal failure of her last film, Thananam Thanananm, it was but natural for Kavitha to go back to her father's rich literary work (she won the National award for her first film Deveeri which was based on her father's story). P Lankesh wrote Mussanjeya Katha Prasanga before he started editing his tabloid Lankesh Patrike.
Lankesh's novel presented the degeneration of the rural milieu though the eyes of Kariya, a teenager who loves to loaf around and watch all that happenings in the village. Kavitha has opted for a straight narration while keeping most of the dialogues from the novel intact.
B Chandregowda, a protege of Lankesh has assisted in writing the dialogues. The hard hitting dialogues are full of sarcasm, anger, frustration, fear psychosis and dilemma, all reflecting the plight of the villagers who are affected by the caste system, but are not ready to move forward.
Kavitha's strength lies in the fact that she has selected the best artistes for all the roles. She has also shot the film in the best locations with award-winning cinematographer, Madhu Ambat. Issac Thomas's music composition and background score perfectly fits the needs of the film.
Performance-wise, Shruthi delivers one of the most poignant performances ever seen on the screen in recent times. Vijay too has acted well while newcomer Smitha is a revelation. Rangayana Raghu has become the most trusted actor for directors in all genres.
Avva is a classy film that is bound to be appreciated by people who look for artistic values.
Rediff Rating: 
