After 45, directorJadeshaa K. Hampi’s Landlord provides ample proof of the strong potential of multi-starrers in cinema. Give the big stars interesting characters, offer them room to perform, blend their roles convincingly with the story, and watch the magic unfold on the big screen. Arjun Janya executed the process with little success in 45, whereas Jadeshaa marches several steps ahead in the game, though he just about falls short in providing a near-perfect experience.
Jadeshaa was the co-writer of the Darshan-starrer Kaatera (2023). Directed by Tharun Sudhir, that film was set in a time when feudal landlords ill-treated the farmers. The core story of Landlord is the same. Legal justice has no place in the violence-stricken village, as the greedy Zameendars call the shots. The oppressed labourers dream of owning land, but it comes with a heavy price.
In Kaatera, Tharun brilliantly balanced the ‘actor’ and ‘star’ in Darshan; in Landlord, Jaadesha has the daunting task of doing it with two performers — Duniya Vijay and Raj B Shetty — and he fairly manages to give equal significance to the two. But, it’s just not star power that works in favour of Landlord.
The film’s politics grabs your attention. Kannada cinema is known to shy away from themes of caste discrimination; however, Jadeshaa here offers a serious, even if not unfamiliar, look at the fight between the haves and the have-nots. It’s interesting how Raj B Shetty’s character (which doesn’t have a name) sends shivers down the spine of those who are thinking of registering a complaint in a police station. It’s surprising how insignificant the police station is in the village, and the director gives a backstory for it as well.
Landlord (Kannada)
Director: Jadeshaa K Hampi
Cast: Duniya Vijay, Raj B Shetty, Rithnya Vijay, Rachitha Ram, Umashree
Runtime: 156 minutes
Storyline: In a village crushed under a brutal landlord’s rule, fear silences the poor, and justice is denied. What follows is a costly fight to reclaim dignity, justice, and the power of the Constitution.
The visual symbolism, which even includes BR Ambedkar’s favoured colour blue, which symbolises Dalit empowerment, adds to the world-building of the movie. Raj B Shetty’s brutal landlord uses the golden bracelet as his weapon, as opposed to Duniya Vijay’s Rachayya, a common, oppressed man, who wields the axe to fight for equality.
Even the supporting characters are made essential to the story. The talent of Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Achyuth Kumar, Shishir Baikady and Sampath Maitreya isn’t left untapped. The set pieces keep coming, often at the expense of smooth storytelling, but they are hard to dismiss. Rachitha Ram, as a resilient wife, and Rithnya, as an aspiring cop who challenges gender norms, get powerful scenes. The best of the lot is the portrayal of the protagonist as a Robinhood, though Jadeshaa doesn’t explore the concept to the fullest.
Raj B Shetty in the movie.
| Photo Credit:
Anand Audio/YouTube
Landlord strongly reminds you of Vetri Maaran’s Asuran (2019). It has the film’s storyline of a superheroic man who fights against systematic oppression. The repeated stress on the importance of education from the protagonist makes the comparison more valid.
The film is also an example of two lead actors trying not to be image-conscious. Vijay is a vulnerable protagonist who gets insulted in front of a village. The actor has always been natural in common man roles. Raj B Shetty makes you hate his presence in the antagonist role. He is brilliant in a scene where his character loses sanity when his manhood is questioned.
That said, Landlord fails to reach the heights it wishes to thanks to a timeline that feels rushed. The over-the-top melodrama, which hasn’t disappeared from the grammar of Kannada filmmaking, is a big drawback. The overt messaging also kills the good impact of portions with realistic drama.
Interestingly, Landlord has hit theatres 50 years after BV Karanth’s classic Chomana Dudi was released. Choma dreamt of tilling his own land, but faced the harsh realities of the one-sided system. Rachayya here takes the fight head-on. The concept still stays relevant in Kannada cinema, but the treatment has become more cinematic. The impact of a social issue lies in the balance between ‘mass’ and ‘messaging,’ and Landord tries to crack it with mixed results.
Landlord is currently in theatres
