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.
