Kousalya Supraja Rama

A much needed cinema in Kannada this year. A neat family entertainer that will intrigue you for a long time. Just WOW!

Trailer onthara itbittu, bere cinemaane torsbittrala guruuu! BLOCKBUSTER .. I will watch it with my family again Surprise surprise!! Nobody expected this cinema to be this good. The best cinema of 2023 so far.. Daaaamn!!!!

First 6 tinglu bargaala.. Next 6 tinglu pravaaha.. Back to back blockbusters for KFI.. this is better than any recent cinema in all languages!

We were prepared for a love story, Milana Nagraj and a high dose of entertainment came out of the syllabus! Whatta roller coaster of emotions! Watching it again.

Just when everyone felt that only Massy gangster dramas with highest production values will bring audiences to theatres, this cinema proved us wrong!!

In the era where only youngsters were being catered to by the filmmakers, veteran director Shashank has made sure to bring back family audiences to theatres. It was a wholesome experience to see youngsters confidently bringing the female members to the cinema. I watched it second time with my family too.

The cinema makes you laugh, smile, cry and smile again, leaving you with the feeling of watching something meaningful after ages. High on entertainment, emotions and values, the cinema never turns preachy. The most sensible concept has been narrated humorously throughout.

KFI is back with a bang in the second half of the year. This cinema will remain with us for a long time.

I honestly wasn't expecting a bit from this cinema after watching the trailer. Felt like it would be yet another typical cinema that comes and leaves.

The reality hit when my husband insisted me to watch this, and couldn't get a ticket for Saturday evening show!

The cinema started okayish to be honest. First 10-15 minutes offered nothing exceptional. But post that, it was a serious changeover and it got us involved in the narration so intensely.

One-liners & narration kept getting better and the story got so engaging that the whole theatre was erupting with laughter, dead silent with their eyes moist and what not!

I wasn't, and along with me, many women weren't getting up from their seats even after the final frame froze to the perfect family photo! There was a smile on face, lump in the throat. I couldn't speak for a while on our way back home.

Sudha Belawadi - I felt as if the team spotted my mother somewhere, observed her and then wrote the story!

Brinda, Milana, Rangaya Raghu, Krishna and most importantly Nagabhushan - they have acted like they knew they won't get a cinema as good as this ever again.

Maybe Karnataka got back the director that once delivered the finest cinemas once upon a time!

While I write this, I still have a lot running in my mind about the cinema. Undoubtedly the best cinema I have watched in the recent past.

Shashank's new directorial narrates the story of Rama (Darling Krishna) who is brought up to be a toxic male, following his father Siddegowda's (Rangayana Raghu) footprints while his innocent mom Kousalya (Sudha Belawadi) compromises her entire life for their sake. His love story with Shivani (Brinda Acharya) ends on an obvious note owing to his behavior and he ends up marrying Muthulakshmi (Milana Nagaraj), a raging alcoholic. How Rama learns his mistakes and saves his marriage forms rest of the story.

Amidst all the newcomers, Shashank has come up with a solid film to prove the old timers still have the right charm to deliver good films. The screenplay is the winner here as the key emotion involved delivers big time. The first half has a decent pace establishing Rama's character and his predicament due to toxic masculinity. There is enough humor too mainly provided by Santhu played by Nagabhushan. Pre-interval portions are heavy on sentiment as the pace drops to ensure the right impact.

It is the second half with the introduction of Milana Nagaraj's character that brings in non-stop entertainment with Nagabhushan too contributing through his counters. The humor is elevated here with few hilariously delivered lines. Here too, the emotional angle works well and the third act is handled very sensibly, hitting it hard. Barring the one Sonu Nigam song and probably the title track in the end, remaining songs fail to leave any impact and the film definitely deserved better songs.

With good performances and a terrific screenplay, Shashank has hit it out of the park making Kousalya Supraja Rama as one of the best films to release this year and a must watch. Highly recommended.

I had my own set of doubts about this cinema. So, here is how my weekend went:

28th July - Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahaani 29th July - Achar and Co 30th July - Kousalya Supraja Rama

One thing is surprisingly common in all these three cinemas. They have attempted to speak about patriarchy and sort of women's perspective about the same. On a lighter note, why don't we call July 28th the "men and women's day"?!!

Though this was the cinema I watched in the last, I feel, this is the best among all the three and hence a 10 on 10. A massy yet classy narrative built around the inherited patriarchy is a serious take on the most sensitive subject. But the point is, the narrative is rib-tickling and at the same time heart-wrenching.

I read other reviews, where people have already spoken about the performances, direction and everything else. To me, the writing was the highlight. Every single character behaved distinctively from each other. The lines they spoke, the way they reacted, the points of realisation etc.

Holistically, everything that was written was heartfelt. Some brilliant one-liners, deep statements which evoked laughter in one scene and made us think twice in the other. Just brilliant!

I hope more Kannada directors come up with something as meaningful and as entertaining as this cinema. Cheers!!