Lucia

Watched the much awaited, much hyped, crowd funded Kannada film "Lucia". Was/Is it worth the hype? Why did it win the audience award? Read on!!

I have been following on this film right from its initial days. Probably a time-line which goes couple of years back. There were many positives as well as fears on the process of how this film was made. Many in my friends circle doubted about the film but they wanted the process of crowd funding to succeed. But i stuck myself on the aspect of how this film will come-by as an end product and how it will look like on the silver screen. I have had little bit conversation on Lucia with Pawan before and for me thriller is one genre if not made well, immediately gets me angry, dissatisfied and feel like being cheated. Pawan Kumar surprised me today with Lucia. He exceeded my expectation. Its not about the process of crowd funding nor the stars who came to watch this but the film itself is so brilliant that my eyes went moist just because of the joy of cinema. Believe me i mean it when i state that this kind of film script attempt has never ever been tried before, forget about Sandalwood, not even in Tollywood or Bollywood. Pawan will be envied as a filmmaker as he has raised his bar too high and it will be challenging for him and interesting for us to see how he breaks this bar with his next ventures.

"Lucia" is path-breaking. There are no big stars in the film but it works because of the strong script, the twisted narration, outstanding cinematography (every frame was magical), honest performances by the entire star-cast no matter they played major or minor roles. Technically this is extremely well handled film. Even the art direction is brilliant. I do not have to say about the music as it is already popular. One important aspect about songs is that the songs fit in sync with the script. It is hard to get a sync of song and the script. Only a thoughtful filmmaker can handle this efficiently.

If you still think that this did not convince you here are more reasons on why you should watch this film. - You like movies by Chris Nolan (Inception),David Fincher (Fight Club), Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Diparadiso), Alejandro Amenabar (Open Your Eyes) then Lucia is a must watch. - You follow world cinema and appreciate thrillers then here is an Indian regional movie of that caliber. You ought to try this one. It has English subtitles so it should not matter for you the fact that this is a Kannada or regional film. - You like to be surprised while you watch a movie then do watch this. This is not an edge of seat thriller but a profound and surreal psychological thriller. - This is a "bring your brain to theater" movie very much in contrast to Rohit Shetty / SRKs Chennai Express.

I have not mentioned anything about the story-line as i want you to experience "Lucia", the ALTERNATE KANNADA CINEMA all by yourself.

Oh my god what a movie! and Why don't these movies come into the mainstream cinema? and if i'm correct this is the first film to be "crowd funded" in India. The script is an exceptional one and the way it is executed takes the cake! This is such a technically brilliant movie in more than one dimension; not only Editing, choreography, BGM etc.. but also the story telling is just mind blowing and the treatment of the script is fresh as a blooming flower! Although there is a clear difference between the two parallel story lines as one part is in black & white, but still the way the script is executed you should have the thinking cap on your head firmly! Last but the not least this movie would invariably become a cult classic and miss this film at your own risk because invariably there will be so many clones spewed out in the near future but it would require a touch of genius as well as madness to repeat this kind of brilliance!

My review on LUCIA (Kannada film) :

The 1st word that comes to my mind when I think about LUCIA is "DREAM", cos for many reasons : 1. Firstly, its a dream project of Director Pawan Kumar and the entire team of LUCIA. 2. It was also the audiences' dreams to have funded in the film, first of its kind, a crowd funded film- which is a dream come true. 3. We all dream in our lives as we are normal human beings, after I watched this film I have 3 things to say : " I saw the dream, I loved the dream and I'm still living in that dream" Presenting to you 1 of the best movies ever made in Kannada and Indian cinema, a special thanks to Pawan Kumar and his entire team for trusting, investing and instilling this dream into our lives.

Please note : I've watched this film twice yesterday once at PVR and once at Veeresh, to also understand the public reactions. Also request to all the people who don't know Kannada to watch this film as there are sub-titles.

Firstly, Director Pawan Kumar : This man is an extraordinary n unbelievable magician, he has proved with Lucia that he can give tough competition to Upendra who is known for his different, unique brain- teasing concepts and editing. Lucia teases your brain, n please carry your brain to this film as its a no-nonsense movie with full on entertainment. What I liked about Lucia is its a simple thought very cleverly/brilliantly told with the necessary entertaining/commercial aspects be it songs, humor, making, emotions. It is very difficult to package all the things n yet come up with a unique n brilliant product. We normally have seen many directors in the past who have tried to say so many things/characters in 1 plot but have failed miserably. But Pawan excels n succeeds with this, 1 of the most brilliant narratives and editing ever. My prediction " Lucia will sweep most of the awards for the year 2013".

Hero Satish Neenasam : Satish "Neenu Awesome". Truly this guy deserves a huge round of applause. Excellent screen presence, confidence, expressions, dialog delivery. Normally he is known for his comical roles, but he has excelled with Lucia. In few sequences he underplays himself so much by giving the right kinda expression, 1 scene where I loved his acting is at the Pizza joint where he meets the heroine n gets disappointed n then leaves with the money on table, I swear I was in tears. That scene touched my heart and also the theater renovation process.

Heroine Sruthi Hariharan: Pretty, Bold, Beautiful…yet soulful, this girl also surprises with her varied looks n expressions. She is a perfect mix of class n mass. I loved the sequences which portray "emotional vs practical" between hero n heroine. Very practical, yet emotional. This girl has a bright future. In few angles she looks similar to Sindhu Loknath.

Achyuta Kumar : One of the finest actors, for me if any1 who has replaced the veteran Ananth Nag its got to be this great man "Achyuta Kumar". He has put in his life to the character 'Shankaranna'. The best on-screen chemistry in this film is not the hero-heroine's , but its Achyuta Kumar-Satish's. Extraordinary performance.

Cinematography by Siddharta Nuni and Gomtesh Upadhye is mind-blowing, both indoor&outdoor sequences have been well shot with excellent lighting system.

Music by the débutant Poornachandra Tejasvi, is soulful, magical, engaging, foot-tapping n will haunt you even after you've left the cinema hall. The background score is out of the world. Singers : Naveen Sajju, Bappi Blossom, Udith, Ananya Bhat n others have given a lot of life with their voice….way to go people. All the best n congrats.

The support cast n crew also doesn't go unnoticed, I'm unaware of their names but remember each n every character, the detective, cops, item;), The tall scary villain, the foreigners; all in all very good performances.

Few things which I thought could've been better : 1. Second half seems to be little longer with few lengthy scenes, though the film's duration is 138 minutes, I thought at least 8-10 minutes of the movie could've been shot. 2. Helu Shiva song could've been shot better, for me it wasn't that impactive as others. 3. Only 1 scene in which Sruthi doesn't look too good is when Satish n his parents come to see her at her house, make-up could've been better.

All in all L-Lovable, U-Unique, C- Clever, I- Involving, A – Amazing. Don't miss this dream, you'll enjoy it. A milestone in Kannada cinema. My rating : 4.75/5.

hello,I watched the movie and I'm not satisfied with it ,yes you read it right, until and unless I see it for two more times,I won't get satisfied ,not that didn't understand the movie but for 3 reasons. 1:cinematography. 2:music 3:And Of course for the brilliant story and direction. yes! the movie is brilliant in all the possible ways ,from the way it has started and ended.This movie is definitely an unusual one in a good way. sometimes while watching some great movies you feel that the movie shouldn't have been ended, that's what I felt about this movie at the end.It creates an urge to see what's gonna happen next. I feel this movie itself is a pill for insomnia. Finally a brilliant and must watch movie.

#Lucia - People who have watched #Inception are saying that Lucia is India's own Inception but I say ' there is only one Lucia in the whole world and it is original '. Inception was about ' a dream within a dream ' but Lucia is about ' lucid dreaming ' so there is no way that these both EPIC movies can be weighed on the same scale because it would seem a stubborn act. #PawanKumar is a man who stands in a league where #ChristopherNolan #StevenSpielberg etc stand, for me. Even if you want to try finding flaws in this movie it is 'Mission Impossible', Pawan Kumar should be an inspiration to the whole industry, he has come out of the box of the age old Indian movie formulas and has done a film that stands unique in the whole world (at least what I know of). You reach out for the characters in the movie and that is something great. He makes the people think, 'what you think is a dream is actually a reality but what you think is reality is actually a dream'. You will be 'Mind Fu..ed'. Pawan Kumar, he with his film and his team need to be nominated to the #OSCARS (am not here to over exaggerate). No wonder it won an award at The London Indian film festival. Cinematography by #SiddharthNuni needs a special mention, shot in a 5d camera, he has made an already classic script into a masterpiece movie on screen. He captures every emotions in its own shade. #PoornaChandraTejaswi the music director is a true find and is a bright prospect to the Kannada industry. He delivers justice through songs and lifts the movie to another level through his BGM which is apt to each and every scene. #NeenasamSatish - now who would have ever thought he had such wide range of emotions hidden in him as an actor? The emotions that he portrays as a normal torch guy or the way he carries the attitude of a film star is mind blowing. #ShrutiHariharan the heroine is convincing and has delivered justice to her role. #AchyuthKumar as the owner of the theater which doesn't see audience or as the manager of a film star is flawless, a true actor. Editing - don't really know him it is but gives you the feel of a Hollywood film with his cut and paste work. It goes razor sharp transporting the movie at a brisk pace so that it doesn't bore you anywhere and yet keeps the suspense going along. Now all said and done about the movie, I am gonna talk as a Kannadiga now - Saw some page today posting watch Lucia at your own risk and I like to rephrase it saying ' miss Lucia at your own risk '. ' The movie is strictly not for fools '. People who hate Kannada movies take this..!.. Finally thanks to the audience who produced this movie. Lucia - an evergreen movie . . . Lucia isn't actually a person if you think it is but it is something else, if you wanna know it watch the movie at a theater . . . The only film where I saw people clap after it ended was #Avatar after that it is only Lucia . . .