Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana: The silent anarchy

When I saw the poster of this movie and saw that Raj B Shetty RBS (as Shiva) and Rishab Shetty (as Hari) were in the lead roles, I knew I had to watch it. As lady luck was in my favor, it was playing in a theater near me so off we went. Check out the Official trailer here. 

Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva is the Hindu trinity, also called the trimurti. The Supreme Spirit or Universal Truth, called Brahman, is represented in three forms, each corresponding to one cosmic function: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the transformer/destroyer).

A child with an apocryphal past is taken up by a family who has a son of a similar age. This is the story about the evolving relationship between the boys of contrasting personalities who grow up to become gangsters. Most of the movie is shot around Mangaladevi temple, Kadri. and other locations in Mangalore city, India. The unique language, flavor and rich culture of the region have been distilled beautifully here, and I was giddy and intoxicated, soaking in this experience. Mangalore Kannada is and will be nectar to my ears :) I was smiling from ear to ear when slang and cuss words were delivered with aplomb like nobody's business (99% of sentences in this movie, so don't go with your kids). 

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The groovy and psychedelic Intro song both encapsulates and conceals the chaos and mayhem which will be unleashed. It is the proverbial quiet before the storm. The background music (Midhun Mukundan) elevates the visuals to stratospheric heights. RBS is the writer and director, and we have familiar faces from Ondu motteya kathe here, both in front of the camera and behind it. 

This is a visually - stunning movie. The still frame videos' felt like paintings (I admired), and there were long, slow shots throughout the movie, giving it a broody and meandering mood. The Pilivesha (a folk dance unique to this region) sequences have been captured in a masterful way, and the beats reverberated the space and thumped on my chest.

From a gangster movie, one might expect a love angle, flying cars and the works. There is none of that here. Get this - there is no heroine, no glamour and no item songs. This movie gives no fucks in pandering to the masses. The movie is driven by the riveting narration, sunning imagery and spellbinding acting by RBS, Rishab & team. RBS' transformation from Janardhan in Ondu motteya kathe to Shiva in this movie is utter, complete and devastating. He has shown us what method acting really means. He is the tour de force, avalanche and volcano who will obliterate everything in his path. I think this Amon Amarth song personifies his character here. 

“The great secret…for moving the passions (in others) is to be moved ourselves” [using visions or experiences from life] “whereby the images of things absent are so represented to the mind that we seem to see them with our eyes, and to have them present before us.”  - Archer, Masks or Faces.

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The entire cast, right to all the supporting actors, young and old have done a tremendous job. 

The editing was little shaky in few places, I felt. I was a little confused a few times, anticipating the scene to lead to something but didn't. Also, I felt some slow motion shots were not really needed. If these were tightened up, things might have been even better. I felt the voice was little low in some scenes. RBS mentioned in an interview that the whole outdoor shooting setup was new to everyone, as Ondu motteya Kathe was shot almost entirely indoors.

I feel fortunate to have experienced this work of art on the big screen. I'm unhappy as I got to see it only once. Tulunadu folks no doubt will love this movie to the core. Traditionally Tulu movies have been mostly comedy. Here we have a great team of talented storytellers forging a path in the Kannada film industry and it's up to each one of us to support them, spread the word and talk about this movie. We need more such movies, guys. We should all support such storytellers for being brave and going against the tide. 

A few points of contemplation:

• Last scene. And one of the first few scenes. Inter related. What is the message?
• Our life is in our hands. We come from nothing, and go to nothing.

Did you watch this movie? What are your thoughts?

(Thanks, Krips, for the insights and for proofreading ;) )