Film: Made in Bengaluru
Producer: Balakrishna B S
Director: Pradeep Shastri
Starring: Madhusudhan Govind, Puneeth Manjunath, Vamshidhar, Himanshi Warma, Ananth Nag, Saikumar, Ramesh Bhatt and others
A lot of stories about the various lives of Bengaluru have been told in numerous films. As the title itself suggests, ‘Made in Bengaluru’ is another attempt, which not only showcases the lives of city but is also a story of startups.
The film is a story of three youths headed by Suhas (Madhusudhan Govind) who venture out into setting up their own startup. They slowly understand that it is not easy to find a investor to fund their startup. An investor called Prahlad Hirachandani (Ananth Nag) offers them to invest in cash, but Suhas rejects the offer thinking that it might be black money.
With no other option, Suhas borrows money from a money lender called Reddy (Saikumar). The money lender agrees to give Rs 25 lakhs and expects Rs 50 lakhs in just a year. Suhas agrees for this deal and ventures to startup with the money. He develops an app to connect farmers with the consumers daily. Can Suhaas win in this venture forms the crux of the film.
‘Made in Bengaluru’ is not only the story of the city and the startup, but also talks about love, friendship, faith, betrayal, failure, success, frustration, hope and what not. Debutante director Pradeep Shastri has tried to blend all the emotions beautifully. Though many films have been made about betrayal and hope, not many tried to blend it with a business proposition and a city as its backdrop. The attempt is not only daring, but is also good.
However, the main problem of the film is its length. What could have been told in just two hours, Pradeep drags it to three hours making it boring in many places. The film is predictable and ends in a positive note. Though it is a feel good film, the audience will be tired because of its length.
Another highlight of the film is a good performance by lead actor Madhusudhan Govind. His transformation from an IT profession to a dejected lover is quite appealing. Madhusudhan is a talent to look out for the future. Vamshidhar as the Malayalee is irritating. Ananth Nag as the Sindi businessman and Saikumar as the money lender have done commendable job. Prakash Belawadi, Sudha Belawadi, Manjunath Hegde and others provide ample support. Songs by Ashwin P Kumar are hummable.
‘Made in Bengaluru’ in spite of being a commercial film is a film for the multiplex audience and not the single screen audience, If you like urban centric films then ‘Made in Bengaluru’ is a film for you.
