With his new Kannada film Venkata In Sankata, Ramesh Arvind proves once again that he is an actor and a director par excellence. The film is a perfect entertainer for the family audience.
Ramesh has already directed two comedies earlier but he can proudly say that Venkata In Sankata is his best comedy yet. What makes the film enjoyable is its great packaging and excellent performances from veteran actors artists and newcomers.
Ramesh, who has written the screenplay along with story writer Thotapalli Madhu, has filled each sequence with comedy elements even though it may be slapstick at times. Venkata In Sankata comes as a breath of fresh air after watching bad films week after week. Ramesh has no pretentions on that count because he makes it very clear that logic is the last thing that he had in mind when he scripted the film. The hilarious first half is followed by an even better second half.
The absent-minded lecturer, the strict vice-principal, a terrorizing lady inspector, the police officer who doubles up as a security watchman are the characters that make you laugh uncontrollably whenever they appear on the screen.
There are some minor letdowns too. The climax is unconvincing, as it is unlikely that a Prime Minister would be present in a function with such weak security. The so-called jehadis are unbelievable too.
Ramesh plays Inspector Venkata, who lands into trouble because of his assistant Laddu. Venkata's grandmother takes him to a fraudulent palmist for advise, but he gets hooked to the palmist's daughter. Later, Venkata poses as a college student to pursue his investigation. What happens later is a laugh riot.
Ramesh puts his heart and soul into Venkata. His fans can enjoy his thrilling stunt sequences. Devadas Koppikad is brilliant. Ramesh and Devadas share good chemistry on screen.
Sharmila Mandre manages to look pleasing on screen. Both Meghana and Anusha look hot and have done justice to their roles. All the veteran artistes -- Umashri, Sanketh Kashi, Daththanna, M S Umesh, Bank Janardhan and Karibasavayya -- have done a good job. Telugu film actor Thotapalli is really funny.
Ricky Kej has composed two good tunes -- Kuniyonu Baa and Rain song. P K H Doss is brilliant behind the camera. This entertainer is worth a watch.
Rediff Rating: 
