“Kodagaana Koli Nungiththa” are the opening lyrics of Kannada poet saint Shishunala Sharif’s song written in the 19th Century. The song has philosophical overtones that would mean ‘what will happen if a hen eats a monkey?’. But this film by director Vasu is neither philosophical nor is it an attempt to focus on the vagaries of life. Instead what you see is the struggle of an unmarried middle aged man to find an ideal wife.
Film: “Kodagaana Koli Nungiththaa”
Director: Vasu
Cast: Jaggesh, Pooja Gandhi, Rangayana Raghu, Sadhu Kokila, Sharan
Music: Sadhu Kokila
Rating: 2/5
“Kodagaana Koli Nungiththa” has its comic moments, but overall the film is a weak presentation with too many illogical sequences thrown in. It is disappointing to see a director like Vasu not making a clean movie that has truly enjoyable humour. The storyline is heavily inspired by Telugu film “Malleshwari” starring Venkatesh and Bhagyaraj’s Tamil film “Oru Ooril Oru Rajakumari”. These two films were in turn inspired by the Hollywood hit “Roman Holiday”.
But what makes “Kodagaana Koli Nungiththa” such ordinary fare is that it is not a family entertainer and the director has used a clichéd method to narrate the story. To add to it, some of the comic sequences are not in good taste and may not go down well with family audiences.
Jaggesh’s magical performance with his trademark dialogue delivery is marred by the cheap comedy on offer. The actor plays Balu, who postpones his marriage plans to fulfil various family responsibilities. But when he is finally ready to tie the knot, he finds that young women are not ready to marry him.
Balu then accidentally meets Lakshmi, who is actually a royal heiress pretending to be a poor girl. He falls in love with her and what follows are a series of adventures as Balu tries various ways to convince Lakshmi to marry him. Jaggesh carries off his role with aplomb and his comedy timing is perfect. This is Pooja Gandhi’s second Kannada film after a dream debut in the block buster “Mungaru Male”. She carries off a swimsuit well and looks stunning.
Music director Sadhu Kokila has just ended up rehashing many Hindi film tunes for the film’s album. “Kodagaana Koli Nungiththa” could have been a better presentation, but director Vasu has spolit his own efforts by trying to fit in too many situations that don’t fit into the plot.
Sharan and Kokila team up well with Jaggesh to keep the laugh-o-meter running. Pooja Gandhi too sustains your interest. Had the comedy been tasteful it could have been a delightful family film.
