Ganesh and Malavika Nair in ‘Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi’
| Photo Credit: Anand Audio/YouTube
Years before the OTT boom, television premieres were a big deal. It was quite common for family members to watch a popular film on a festival day. A three-hour movie would get stretched for six hours due to the plethora of advertisements, but people hardly cared about it. For them, it was more about the experience of watching films together rather than taking them seriously.
Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi, starring Ganesh, feels like a film tailor-made for that era. Today, when the streaming wave has threatened the big screen, it’s improbable that an outdated film like Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi would draw the audience to theatres. In fact, in a bid to not give a hint about the film’s major twist, the makers didn’t even drop a teaser or trailer!
Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi (Kannada)
Director: Srinivas Raju
Cast: Ganesh, Malavika Nair, Sharanya Shetty, Sadhu Kokila, Avinash
Runtime: 160 minutes
Storyline: Krishna, a successful businessman, wants to desperately get married. He falls in love, wins over his woman and convinces his family for their marriage. But, are they destined to be together?
In an interesting choice, director Srinivas Raju narrates a love story through a non-linear screenplay. But apart from this aspect, nothing works in the film’s favour. Ganesh plays Krishna, owner of Krishna Group of Companies. Malavika Nair plays Krishna’s assistant-cum-friend, Pranaya. Even as we warm up to their equation, the director presents us with their flashback, in which Krishna attempts to woo Pranaya. The successful businessman poses as a humble driver to avoid intimidating Pranaya, who runs an orphanage.
So what transpired between the two timelines? “Memory loss,” whispered one person sitting behind me during the show. The concept of memory loss is as old as the hills. Unless you treat it uniquely, it’s tough for the idea to yield good results. The director fails to do so, and what’s worse is that he opts for another old trope in romantic dramas: love at first sight.
Krishnam Pranaya Rakhi gets marred by shallow writing. The Krishna Group of Companies is a powerful organisation, but we don’t know what it’s famous for. The protagonist keeps attending meetings that don’t make sense. Meanwhile, Pranaya’s orphanage resembles a small yet pretty homestay and hardly appears like an institution devoted to children.
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Krishna’s assistants keep reminding us about hundreds of women waiting to get hitched to the billionaire, making us feel that he is doing Pranaya a favour by falling in love with her. Pranaya is subdued, whereas another woman from Krishna’s rival company (played by Sharanya Shetty) — who falls in love with him — is glamorous and hot-headed. Perhaps that’s the director’s idea of a rich and successful woman.
When Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi was announced, people spoke about the odd combination of director Srinivas Raju and Ganesh. The former had just finished the gritty and violent Dandupalya series, whereas Ganesh is known for romantic comedies. The makers used this unusual pairing as a peg to promote the film. However, the reality is that the duo has failed to deliver; as for Ganesh, he has nothing new to show as his films continue to feel repetitive.
Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi is currently running in theatres
