Title – LANDLORD, Producer – Sarathi Films – KV Sathyaprakash and Hemanth Gowda K, Direction – Jadesh K Hampi, Cinematography – Swamy J Gowda, Music – B Ajaneesh Lokanath, Cast – Vijaya Kumar, Rachita Ram, Raj B Shetty, Ritanya Vijay, Achyuth Kumar, Gopalakrishna Deshpande, Shishir Baikady, Rakesh Adiga, Bhavana Rao, Mitra, Mahanthesh Hiremat, Abhi Das, and others.
The knack of director Jadesh K Hampi has increased multifold after writing the story for the super hit Kannada film Kaatera. This is evident from the terrifically presented Landlord — the glory of presentation is in excess, and the cute editor in him would have been a solid treat.
Set in the backdrop of the 1970s, Landlord digs into the history of the ‘Uluvavanige Bhoomi’ stand taken during the tenure of then Chief Minister Devaraj Urs, but the ghastly ‘Raja Prabhutva’ is definitely sickening to the downtrodden.
Director Jadesh Hampi concentrates equally on the atrocities meted out to the innocent backward class and, at the same time, glorifies the lordship of landlords, which is sometimes very severe and indigestible. The slogan he creates — that ‘Samvidhana’ should reach every nook and corner — is admirable. The director’s intention of storytelling from the past to the present generation is impeccable, despite Landlord being a lengthy tale.
Rachaiah (Vijaya Kumar) lives happily with his wife Ningavva (Rachita Ram) and daughter Bhagya (Ritanya Vijay) in the village of Hulidurga, which is dominated by Sandhani (Raj B Shetty) and his four siblings, who rule the village with atrocities. Rachaiah’s wish is to acquire a piece of land, as his mother (played by Umasri) wants to sow crops on it and eat food grown on her own land.
The troublemakers Sandhani and his siblings commit all kinds of atrocities on the villagers and are not ready to part with even an inch of land for the downtrodden class. As the trouble mounts with no police intervention in Hulidurga, the educated Bhagya is a cop, daughter of Rachaiah, becomes a hardship for the troublemakers.
When Sandhani learns about the past of Rachaiah — Kodali Rachaiah, who acquired land through stiff competition for his livelihood — the shivering starts. The valiance of Rachaiah has to be countered by Sandhani, but it turns out to be an uphill task. Sandhani’s dominance is so strong that he manages different ways to destabilize the strength of Rachaiah.
Rachaiah’s intention is for the good of the people. He urges them by saying, ‘Balapa Hidiri, not Ayudha, in life to come up.’ Sandhani goes further by capturing Rachaiah’s daughter to make her a ‘Dasi’, but the pent-up frustration now boils over, leading to a solid climax. This is a well-made action film for Vijayakumar. He is stunning and steals the show throughout. The stunts and dialogue delivery are too good, which he manages exceptionally well.
Rachita Ram has two releases this week, but her performance is award-worthy as Chinnamma in Landlord. Giving up the glam shade, Rachita Ram has shown how strong she is as a performer. Ritanya Vijay (daughter of Vijayakumar) gets a solid role to prove her mettle. She is very bold and dashing, and her dialogue delivery is superb for this upcoming actress of Kannada cinema. Raj B Shetty steals the show with the power his character carries. As a cruel and strong troublemaker, Raj B Shetty, with a new hairstyle, has proved that he fits perfectly into action masala films as well.
Comedy actor Mitra has a solid role, and Umasri, as Rachaiah’s mother, continues her consistency on the Kannada screen with a stunning performance. The dialogues penned for this film are catchy and appeal to the mass audience. The makeup and art direction score highly with beautifully prepared sets.
Stalwart music director B Ajaneesh Lokanath has given a peppy song — Ningavva… Ondalla Nooru Kangalu Bekide… — well scored with terrific and apt background music. Cinematographer Swamy J Gowda brings excellent mood through his framing, capturing the greenery of rural locations beautifully.
Landlord is a lesson from the past to the present generation, told grippingly and lavishly by the famous producer of the Kannada film Sarathi, KV Sathyaprakash, and his son Hemanth Gowda. Worth watching for mass and family audiences!
