(Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film's producers or any other members of its cast and crew.)
What happens when a bunch of seasoned actors join hands with a clever director? - Aa Karaala Ratri (The Intense Dark Night) aka a suspense thriller, which makes quite an impact!
What was planned in the ‘Bigg’ House (Bigg Boss House) has been well executed in a small house by the director! In the end, the Aa Karaala Ratri team, most of whom were Bigg Boss 5 contestants (2018 season), has managed to pull off a surprise in the absence of any A-list actor.
After a long time, an interesting suspense thriller has made its way to the theatres. The film not only manages to keep the audience on the edge of their seats but also thoroughly entertains throughout, with unexpected twists and turns leading to an unseen climax.
Suspense thrillers can be classified into two types – a badly executed film that gives away all the elements in the first half, encouraging the audience to walk out of the theatres in the intermission. The second one knows how to exactly control even the blinking of the audience’s eyes. Aa Karaala Ratri belongs to the second category and has become the talk of the town.
The film opens with PKH Das’ camera showing us the serene and green Chikkamagaluru, where the story unfolds in a small house. In fact, the scenes just juggle between the house and a liquor shop located nearby. Initially, the film revolves around three actors – Muthanna (Rangayana Raghu), a drunkard, his compassionate wife Gowramma (Veena Sundar) and their daughter Mallika (Anupama Gowda), a frustrated but fearless woman.
The peace in the house is stirred by the arrival of two men – a soothsayer (Naveen Krishna) and Channakeshava (Karthik Jayaram), the man with a secret suitcase, which opens a brilliant twist about how greed, lust and desire can overpower values like love, empathy and compassion.
With minimal characters, the film has turned out just fine. The actors know their roles and have excelled in them. Raghu and Veena portray the role with ease as usual. TV actor Anupama, who is making her debut on the silver screen, makes an impression. Though Karthik needs to work on his diction, he is decent in the role of Channakeshava.
Simple language, coupled with a few unheard lines from Mankuthimmana Kagga (poems by DV Gundappa), make the dialogues intriguing. The other two Bigg Boss contestants, Sihi Kahi Chandru and Jaya Srinivasan, who have minor roles to play, have done them justice.
The film is an adaptation of a play of the same name. Director Dayal Padmanabhan surely knows how to give a filmy touch to the play, for this is his second such film after Haggada Kone, which received critical acclaim. With minimal resources, Dayal has extracted the maximum and it is evident on the big screen.
Dayal, who has worked with well-known directors in the past, has demonstrated that a suspense thriller can be crafted with lesser-known actors devoid of the routine ingredients.
Ganesh Narayan’s background score complements the fast screenplay. But the songs are just okay. This is one department the team could have concentrated on. Overall, Aa Karaala Ratri is a good entertainer that can be watched with the family.
(Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film's producers or any other members of its cast and crew.)