• Chetan Nadiger
Film: Naa Ninna Bidalaare
Producer: Bharathi Baali
Director: Naveen
Starring: Ambali Bharathi, Panchakshari, K S Sridhar, Seerunde Raghu, Srinivasa Prabhu, Mahantesh, Harini Srikanth, Lakshmi Siddaiah and others
Horror films follow a standard formula across all languages. An old abandoned house in the middle of a forest, a possessed spirit waiting for revenge, a creepy feeling in the house etc. This week’s ‘Naa Ninna Bidalaare’ starring mostly newcomers has followed all the standard procedures perfectly but lacks the much-needed intensity.
Rishi (Panchakshari) finds Charvi (Ambali Bharathi) on a riverbank, with no memory of her past. He rescues her and protects for a year. He finds that a missing complaint about Charvi has been lodged in a police station in Madikeri a year back. Rishi along with Charvi and other friends try to find out about her past, which leads to a haunted and abandoned house in the middle of the forest. What does Rishi and friends find about Charvi forms the crux of the film.
The title ‘Naa Ninna Bidalaare’ is derived from the popular horror film of yesteryears starring Ananth Nag and Lakshmi in prominent roles. The film is considered as one of the evergreen films in Kannada film. However, the new ‘Naa Ninna Bidalaare’ falls short of expectations compared to the original and becomes not a great experience because of a poor screenplay.
Like all thrillers and horrors in the recent past, this film starts only after the interval. The first half is wasted with a bad comedy and not so important scenes. The film gains momentum only in the second half after the past of Charvi is revealed. The film is quite predictable and can be easily guessed. The film ends with the usual good winning over the bad. Though the director has done extensive research regarding many medical issues related to the subject, he does not make an attempt to change the overall horror formula or go against it. In spite of a few twists and turns, the film ends up as another horror film in the long list.
Newcomers Ambali Bharathi and Panchakshari try their best. Comedy by Seerunde Raghu and Mahantesh irks the audience. Senior actors like K S Sridhar and Srinivasa Prabhu have done their bit. There is nothing great about M S Thyagaraj’s music and Veeresh’s cinematography.
