Title: Amartha, Producer: Dr. Kanyana Sadashiv Shetty, Directors: Guru Hegde & Vinay Preetham, Cinematography: Guruprashanth Rai, Music Directors: Shinoy V Joseph & Pancham Jeeva, Cast: Srinagara Kitty, Meghana Raj, Guru Hegde, Usha Bhandari, Krithi Shetty, Mohan Sheni, Sunil Nelligudde, Nagaraj Bhat, Chetan Vijay, Asha Sujay, Ila Vitla, Shruthi Nayak, Shailashree Mulki, Roopa Varkadi, Vajradheer Jain and others.
Watching Amartha is like experiencing a cool breeze while sitting atop a hill station during an excursion. The film has a soothing quality that never overwhelms you, and by the end, you feel that your time, money and effort have been well spent.
The team, familiar with the world of television serials, makes a confident transition to the big screen with convincing storytelling. However, the snail-paced narration, particularly in the first half, could have been sharper. At 136 minutes, the film occasionally takes longer than necessary to arrive at its emotional destinations.
One of the film’s most striking ideas revolves around money and food. The dialogue suggests that just as food is meant to be shared, money too has value when it reaches others. More importantly, the film reminds us that time is something we cannot stop or store. If we fail to make meaningful use of it, we are ultimately the losers in life. This thought feels particularly relevant to the present generation.
Amartha – Kalatheetha Cinema looks at the past while remaining connected to the expectations of the present and the future. Spanning a journey from childhood to adulthood, with characters entering the story at the right moments, the film gradually develops into a family-oriented emotional drama.
The film begins on a light-hearted note, with comedy actors Pushparaj Bolar and Deepak Rai, known for Su From So, bringing a natural touch to their scenes. But once the story opens up, it moves into several different emotional dimensions.
At the centre of the childhood portion are Ramesha (Srinagara Kitty) and Lakshmi (Meghana Raj). Ramesha fails to express his love for Lakshmi when they are young. As time passes, Lakshmi ends up with the wrong partner and eventually chooses the path of becoming an independent woman.
What happens to Ramesha?
After twenty-five years, he returns to Amrutha Halli for the wedding of Govindanna’s daughter. Govindanna is the man who once saved Ramesha from drowning in a river but tragically lost his own life in the process. In an effort to repay that enormous debt of gratitude, Ramesha takes responsibility for arranging and conducting Govindanna’s daughter’s marriage.
The wedding brings together several old school friends. Lakshmi, Anitha, Jennifer, Raju, Swetha, Kirana, Shivu and others reunite after years. Understanding the situation between Ramesha and Lakshmi, Anitha (Krithi Shetty) makes every effort to bring the two together.
It is at this point that directors Guru Hegde and Vinay Preetham begin revealing the film’s deeper emotional layers.
A particularly beautiful dialogue by Ramesha — “Modale Onti Agiro Ninnanna Matthe Onti Agakke Nanage Ishta Illa” — is one of the film’s highlights. Its true significance becomes much clearer as the film approaches its conclusion, giving the words an added emotional weight.
As the climax approaches, the story delivers a surprising and unsettling turn that leaves the friends in a state of shock and disbelief. This is one portion that is best experienced without knowing too much beforehand. The directors also leave room for the audience to draw their own conclusions rather than spelling everything out.
Srinagara Kitty, as Ramesha, gives a restrained and sensible performance. His character does not depend heavily on dialogue, and Kitty effectively communicates through his expressions and body language. The beard and overall appearance also suit the character’s later-life persona.
Meghana Raj looks graceful and delivers the emotional requirements of her role with considerable sensitivity. Her performance is one of the film’s redeeming features.
However, it is Krithi Shetty who brings an especially lively energy to the film. Her performance attracts attention and gives several scenes a fresh emotional spark. Guru Hegde and Usha Bhandari as couple in the film gives a precise performance.
The songs of Amartha, particularly the way they are woven into the background of the narrative, reflect an interesting creative thought from the directors. Guruprashanth Rai’s cinematography is equally absorbing, capturing the mood and emotional atmosphere of the story with warmth.
And when the familiar line “Kalavannu Thadeyoru Yaaru Illa” lingers in the mind as you walk out of the theatre, the film’s central thought becomes clear: time waits for nobody.
So, who can stop you from spending a little time with Amartha? Go watch this serene, sensible and emotionally rooted film.
