Lifeu Ishtene: Double Thumbs Up !!

Lifeu Ishtene[Lifu Ishtene] is the latest flick released this weekend in Sandalwood from the renowned Yograj Bhat factory. The movie is directorial debut venture of my college-mate Pawan Kumar, who a decade ago defying all the odds, decided to drop out voluntarily from 4th semester of engineering studies and pursue a full-time career in performing arts. And the rest is history !


To put review of the movie in a nutshell (as posted on my FB wall):

Contemporary theme, Fresh treatment, Hyper-engaging screenplay, Flawless characterizations, seamless blending of comedy and emotions, Funny-yet-elegant songs, Picturesque landscapes

Here the things are in detail

• Frankly speaking, I hardly could spot a negative in the movie. The screenplay is so engaging by the time you try to do any analysis the movie will be over ! 
• The nested flashback mode with narration from the protagonist makes the screenplay interesting and climax part is very creatively executed.
• The theme is very contemporary and I am sure today's generation can relate to 1-2 incidences from their personal experiences.  
• Emotional and Comical moments are blended seamlessly and you will never think explicitly like - 'This is a comic scene, This is a sad scene etc'
• Liked the interpretation of public toilet, DVD playback etc.
• Characterization is flawless. You will never feel whether a particular character should be there in the scene or not. 
• Supporting casts are very inclusive in the storyline. Personally, I liked the characters Diganth's friend Shivu and Ladies Hostel watchman.
• Diganth in the protagonist role as Vishal has done tremendous justice to the confused character and adding to this you won't find traces from his previously portrayed roles. 
• Definitely tons of changes from Pancharangi. A big revamp in supporting cast was a plus point - No Ananth Nag, No Padmaja Rao and Sudha Belawadi was there only for one sequence. As I had mentioned in my Pancharangi post, I don't have personally against these talented actors but somehow I am attached to their characterization of Mungaru Male.
• Songs were very much part of the narrative. Conversational songs were funny and sophisticatedly choreographed. 
• The two songs shot at Ladakh(at Thiksey Monastery and Pangong Lake) are dexterously executed. Definitely a major achievement in Kannada film industry with respect to new locations. It was amusing see the places on a silver screen which I had been a few months back. 
• The movie has been nicely promoted through social media. Hats off to Pawan for using all the means to taking his movie to a different level ! .. Read Wasted time in his personal blog. I am sure each of one of us can take a leaf out of it. 

Bottomline: The movie has definitely created a new benchmark in Sandalwood industry and  I am looking forward seeing it again !

An Aside:
It's been a long time I have not posted about movies. One of the major reasons for this is that the movie contents will have a short shelf life. However, when it comes to Kannada movies this reasoning will be an exception and hence this post :)

Other links:

• FB fanpage of Lifeu Ishtene
• Review by Raveesh Kumar.