Thavarina Siri

Starring: Shivrajkumar, Daisy Bopanna, Aashita, Ramesh Bhat, Sadhu Kokila, Tennis Krishna, Ashwini, Aswini
Director: Om Sai Prakash
Producer: Ramu
Music Dir: Hamsalekha
Lyricist: Hamsalekha
Singers: S.P. Balasubramaniam, Nanditha, Malathi, Kunal Ganjawala, Chitra, Madhu Balakrishna, Nanditha,
Mangala, Vijay Yesudas, Manu
Distributor: Sri Ganesh
Genre: Romance, Drama

Synopsis
A young boy comes running into the classroom at school. He tells Muthanna that his parents were working in the fields, when they were both struck by lightening, and killed. Muthanna, as the oldest, is left with the sole responsibility of looking after and bringing up his three little sisters, Annapurna, Saundarya and Padma. They go to Chandra aunt’s house, for a house-warming ceremony, where they are welcomed by their uncle, Ramanna (Ramesh Bhat), who turns out to be their only friend, for their aunts order them to leave the table, so that others can sit to eat. Muthanna has the task of cultivating the land, to raise his little family, with the help of Ramanna.
Fifteen years later, Muthanna (Shivrajkumar) is very successful, and very rich, but he gives away a lot of what he grows to the villagers, and his sisters present the women with sarees. He adores his sisters, and they adore him. Now that he is rich, his father’s relatives who had treated them so badly when they were young, come to the house, wanting their two sons to marry Annapurna and Saundarya. The girls refuse, telling the relatives that the boys are undesirable characters. Muthanna then gets a marriage-broker to arrange for his two elder sisters to marry a Doctor and an Engineer.
Then Muthanna rescues a girl who is being chased by rowdies. Her name is Priya (Daisy Bopanna), and the chief of the rowdies lent her money for legal fees when her father was wrongly accused of murder. Her father was convicted, and her mother died of the shock. She has been unable to pay back the money, and now the lender wants to have his wicked way with her. Muthanna fights them off, and finally pays the money that she owed, and takes her back to live in an outhouse beside his house. Priya is extremely grateful to him for all he has done.
At this point we are introduced to the entertaining comedy sub-plot, whose characters have nothing whatsoever to do with the story. Amba is married. A long lost relative, Krishnanna (Tennis Krishna) arrives on the scene. It turns out that he and Amba were childhood friends, and their father wanted them to get married, but their horoscopes did not match, hence Amba married someone else. Her husband (Sadhu Kokila), whose name we never learn, is jealous. Then Krishnanna meets Amba’s sister, Kamila, and the father decides they should marry. The comedy routine continues throughout the film, and the only thing it has to do with the main story, is when Amba’s father announces how many years have passed since Krishnanna arrived on the scene, putting the story in perspective.
The marriage-broker arranges for a Doctor and an Engineer to come, with their families. They approve of the girls, and get married. But they are badly treated, and finally both husbands want a divorce. The problem is that the girls have not had a proper education, and they have not learned how to cook. They arrive back home, and are ashamed of what has happened. However, Priya takes them in hand, and the results delight their husbands and their families, who no longer want a divorce, but are now happy with their wives.
Meanwhile, Padma (Aashita) is finishing her college education. She and Anand are in love, but Anand is from a very wealthy family, whose father does not want him to marry a village-girl, and tells Muthanna that he will only consent to the wedding, if Muthanna will pay for it to be a grand affair, costing around Rs. 1½-2 crores. Muthanna had already borrowed Rs. 2 crores from a moneylender for a deal in which he bad been cheated by a fraudster, but he had paid it back. The same money-lender is happy to give him a further loan. The wedding is a grand affair, and Muthanna is pleased that all his sisters are happily settled down in marriage.
During all this time, Muthanna has become increasingly friendly with Priya, and has fallen in love with her, but is afraid to tell her, despite the fact that she seems to be in love with him. Then Muthanna receives a piece of news which shocks him, and completely changes everything in his life. What will happen in the remaining 50 minutes of the film, which ends with a sensational climax?

Songs:
1. Hasidaaga Ana
2. Matadu Matadu Milli Millege Muddadu
3. Jolly Manasu Hind Kanasu
4. Preethi Namma Tavarina Siri
5. Aakasha Inda Bandida Apsare
6. Balina Bidi

Released Year: 2006
Running Time: 160 minutes/Colour/Kannada

Review
This is a delightful film, with a feel good factor. Shivrajkumar is at his best as a loving, caring brother, a benefactor who believes in doing good, and an action hero. Ramesh Bhat is excellent in the supporting role of his uncle, who is always there as a friend. Daisy Bopanna is good as the heroine, but in a sense the three sisters are also heroines, each in her own way. Sadhu Kokila and Tennis Krishna are great in the comedy sub-plot, with the support of the two wives and father-in-law. The relatives of Muthanna’s father are all good at being disagreeable (which is what they are supposed to be), and the husbands and families of the sisters are good.

Om Sai Prakash has directed this film well, and, of course, the songs, with words and music by Hamsalekha are superb, as one would expect them to be! “Hasidaaga Ana” is the song with Muthanna and his family and all the villagers, dressed in colourful costumes, about the duty and the joy of giving. “ Matadu Matadu Milli Millege Muddadu” is a love-song with Muthanna and Priya in the fields, in the hills and beside waterfalls. “Jolly Manasu Hind Kanasu” is a love-song featuring Muthanna and Priya, and a number of villagers, dancer, both male and female, all in a varying range of colourful costumes. “Preethi Namma Tavarina Siri” (Love is the richness of the maternal house) is a family song – but interestingly we see scenes of Muthanna and his sisters as children, having fun with their parents, scenes of events before the start of the film. “Aakasha Inda Bandida Apsare” is another love-song, featuring Muthanna and Priya, and some female dancers. The music is great, the lyrics are great, the picturisation and the choreography too. This is a film to watch and re-watch. Oh, yes, what about the last song, “Balina Bidi”? That’s in the last 50 minutes. Watch the film and find out

5 stars

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]