Lucia - A Fresh Approach in Kannada Movie Making
Thoughts about a movie that captured my imagination.
Your ordinary life might be somebody else’s big dream. The dream world is still an unexplored and boundless sea. It is not just a phenomenon but the driving force of humanity. Dreams can be anything that you want them to be.
It can just be an amusement/pastime; or a retreat from the banal lifestyle that you have been leading all your life; an obsession or sometimes an inspiration or a mere expectation. Lucia in that sense is a breather for Kannada cinema and a dream come true for lovers of authentic, thought-provoking cinema.
Lucia is a crowd-funded Kannada psychological thriller directed by Pawan Kumar. The lead actors are Sathish Neenasam and Shruti Hariharan. The movie relies heavily on a strong script, great direction, enjoyable music and perfect casting rather than its actors’ reputation. The movie is a breather for cinema lovers.
The Movie
I would rather skip the plot of the movie as any reference to the core story would only be a spoiler. But I would like to tell you that the movie moves with two parallel tales of which only one is reality and the other is a dream.
The true plot is revealed only at the end (provided that the audience can decipher the story). Anyways, what’s the point in telling the tale of a thriller?
The actors have been chosen well. The cinematography and technical department has done a great job. The music is refreshingly different from the romantic songs we’ve been fed after the success of Mungaru Male. The dialogues have depth and meaning. The narration is mind-tingling and entertaining.
Many would argue that the movie is “inspired” by Hollywood biggies like Inception or Memento. But I would argue that Lucia has its own identity as it has an emotional layer and a strong connection to contemporary India/ Bangalore.
The Making of Lucia
It all began with Pawan Kumar’s (director of the movie) blog post written in anger and haste about the rejection of his script by major stars of Kannada cinema. It was titled as “Making Enemies”. He considers this post as the starting point of “Project Lucia”.
In it, he describes the travails that he underwent to pitch for Lucia in the current system, i.e. the existing Kannada movie-making culture. However, he found the task to be almost impossible.
He points out the farce that Kannada movie makers were imposing on the viewers by making remakes and cliched movies. I am sure that he did make quite a few enemies in the Kannada film industry, thanks to his passion for cinema sans “commercial masala content”.
Despite these insurmountable obstacles, he managed to find a way to make his brainchild see the light. I would say that pulled a rabbit out of his hat by deciding to crowd-fund the production. His immense faith in his script and undying courage to stand up for his ideas are commendable
Watch it, Recommend it, Support Good Cinema
Lucia is not just a movie. It is a confident and bold step towards original and thought-provoking Kannada cinema. And the change could have come only from an angry young man like Pawan Kumar.
The reviews in the newspapers are lukewarm or at the best slightly encouraging. This worries me as a spectator. The movie reviewers might have a hidden agenda when it comes to movies with a difference.
As a common spectator, I badly want this movie to succeed. Lucia might be the game changer if it makes a strong statement at the box office. If Lucia wins, the common spectator wins. Watch it, recommend it, and support good cinema.