Jai Jagadish was introduced as a Kannada hero by none other than Puttanna Kanagal, and has proved his mettle as an actor and producer. Therefore, when Jai announced his decision to take up direction, expectations ran high.

Unfortunately, Jai has faltered in his first attempt, mainly baecuse he opted for a remake. The film has everything -- gore, violence and sex -- in abundance, except for a good story.

The Tamil original, Manmathan, had actors like Silambarasan and Jyothika in the lead, with a bevy of item-dancers from Bollywood like Yana Gupta [Images] and Mandira Bedi [Images]. It is surprising that an experienced actor and producer like Jai Jagadish decided to remake an ordinary film like Manmathan. It defies logic.

He has also lifted the tunes from Yuvan Shankar Raja and even the background score for some sequences is lifted. Jai Jagadish cannot claim any originality for this remake.

The badly paced film fails to arouse interest. But for Audithya in the role of Putta, the film suffers even in the acting department. For once, even cameraman Giri has delivered substandard work -- like all the technicians and artists involved.

Madana is the story of two twins, Madana and Putta. Madana wants to achieve something big in music. His brother Putta is an innocent youngster, who falls for a girl named Vaishnavi. (Saaniya) Vaishnavi is a flirt, and married Putta only to make him work as a servant.

Putta kills Vaishnavi and her boyfriend in an act of rage. Then follows a series of murders across the city, where rich and famous girls are raped and murdered. The film sounds okay, but the suspense isn't maintained.

Audithya does well as Putta. Heroine Sameeksha is totally wasted and compared to Jyothika in the original film, she looks totally out of place in the film. Saaniya has nothing much to do. Most artists have acted below their usual standards.

Madana is a wasted effort which will neither please the audience nor bring recognition to debutant director Jai Jagadish.

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