Tenali Rama is not based on the Tamil Tenali Raman made by K S Ravikumar (with Kamal Haasan and Jayaram in the lead) but on another Tamil film, Kathanayagan made around 15 years ago, starring Pandyarajan and SV Shekhar.
The film is about 2 jobless youths lured by a fake travel agent promising jobs in Dubai. Instead of Dubai, they land up in Vasco (Goa), which they think is Dubai. The funny situations that follow form the crux of the story.
Pandu Magadi promises non-stop laughter for 140 minutes, with most of Kannada cinema's comedians featuring in the cast: Besides Jaggesh and Ramesh, the film has Komal, Deepu, and Manasi.
After his debut with Rama Shaama Bhaama, Ramesh Arvind had taken a break as director and decided to act under other directors. "Tenali Rama is a laugh riot all the way. I signed Tenali Rama mainly because I was going to work with Jaggesh for the first time. I am a great fan of Jaggesh's excellent comedy timing," Arvind reveals. "The film has come out very well, and I'm sure this film will be a treat for people who want to watch good comedy films."
Text: RG Vijayasarathy