For Sandalwood, 2018 ended with a big bang, thanks to Yash’s KGF: Chapter 1, which kept the hopes of the audience soaring for 2019. The film, considered to be a magnum opus, not only broke records but also set high standards.
The first Kannada release of 2019, Fortuner, with its engaging trailer, had promised a comic entertainer. However, the film follows the “old wine in new bottle” format, making it an uninteresting watch. Partha (Diganth) is a local MLA’s son and a spoilt brat. He is not interested in politics or securing a job. He meets Anusha (Sonu Gowda), a techie, and immediately falls in love with her. After lying through his teeth about his livelihood, he marries her.
Anusha gets to know that Partha is a jobless man and is disgusted by his attitude. Depressed, Partha befriends neighbour Shruthi (Swathi Sharma). To prove their respective spouses wrong, they decide to open a food truck in Partha’s Toyota Fortuner car (hence the title). The rest of the movie is about the trio, leading to a clichéd climax.
The movie has shades of Wake Up Sid, Ki and Ka, Tumhari Sulu and a dozen other Hindi films. Looks like the director has blended it all but in a wrong way. Incorporating small changes in the script could have made Fortuner a lot better and a watchable affair.
Performance-wise Swathi has done absolute justice to the role. She plays a young woman from a village, who is suddenly asked to move to the city and is confused about the new lifestyle and subsequently suffers from an identity crisis. Though it is her debut, Swathi silently steals the show by letting her eyes do all the talking. She conveys joy and sorrow with equal ease and her facial expressions are very convincing.
Romcoms are Diganth’s forte and hence he plays his part well. Diganth excels in such roles and his comic timing in this movie is spot-on. However, it is unfortunate to see the multi-talented Doodhpeda Diganth taking up similar roles while his contemporaries are busy experimenting. His last film Katheyondu... was a hit and in that film, too, he plays a similar role. Such roles may make him a favourite with the youth, but he is sure to invite severe criticism if he continues being part of such scripts.
Sonu, who has bagged a major role after a long time, is good, but her character isn’t strong enough. Sonu is extremely choosy about her scripts and is always up for experimenting. But it is surprising to see her take up a mediocre role in Fortuner.
The film has a bunch of cameos – Rajesh Nataranga, Naveen Krishna, Kalyani Raju, Vinayak Joshi among others, who have been chosen wisely, but they hardly add any interesting turn to the plot. For his debut, director Manjunath J Anivarya has chosen a simple subject, which makes the film quite average. Poornachandra Tejaswi’s background music and songs do not stand out and make us take a relook during the credit line, wondering if it is the same person, who has previously delivered many hits.
The film is too slow and is hampered by a predictable plot-line. The comedy cannot save the film either and the dialogues are too lengthy to digest. The film strives to connect with the urban audience, but fails because it lacks logic, especially when explaining the lead character played by Diganth. The makers haven’t even put some effort to explore locations. Most scenes are shot indoors, which makes it look mundane. The film may have worked well if it was made a decade ago. But right now, it is difficult to convince the audience with such a weak script.
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.