Review: 'Nammanna Don' (Kannada)

Film:  Nammanna Don (Kannada)
Director: Ramesh Aravind
Cast: Ramesh Aravind, Mona Paraveresh, Sanathani, Rajendra Kamath
Rating: **1/2

Actor and director Ramesh Aravind is back after three years with a tongue-in-cheek film that not only gives the audience a healthy dose of comedy, but also attempts to teach us a thing or two about the situation of healthcare in our country.

One of the film’s  USP is its crisp screenplay. With Nammanna Don, Ramesh Arvind has proved his mettle yet again.

The film is about Dr Arjun (Ramesh Aravind), a cardiologist at Malpani Hospital, who wants to garner funds for the cardiac surgery of a girl from economically backward family. Dr Sripada (Achyuthkumar) wants to get elected as president of Elephants Club by spending lot of money, but Dr Arjun advises him to use that money to help the girl. 

Sripada reluctantly agrees to Arjun’s proposal but decides to create trouble for him. He announces that Arjun wants to perform open heart surgeries free of cost. Meanwhile, Malpani, the chairman of the hospital, asks Arjun to stop his philanthropic acts and take fees for surgeries. The story of course has a few more angles to it, but we reckon it’s best if you watch that on screen.

Arvind deserves credit for using his cast members aptly; be it journalist Sunayana Suresh, who plays the matron of the hospital, to Layendra, actor Sadhu Kokila’s brother, and even Veena Bhat. Writer-actor Rajendra Kamath plays a double role — don and beggar Srinivas — and does a pretty decent job; his dialogue delivery is timely and carries off the funny scenes quite well. Mona Paraveresh, who plays this really naughty girl in the film, looks beautiful while Sanathini provides good support.

One of the best things about the film is the complete absence of violence and being able to send a message through humour; yes, you can definitely take your family.