Kannada Movie: Beru (The Root)

Title: Beru (2005) (Kannada with English Subtitles).
Starring: H.G. Dattatreya, Suchendra Prasad, M.P Venkata Rao, Baby Sowmya, Neeta, Vidya Murthy, Lakshmi Chandrashekar, T.N Seetharam
Direction: P Sheshadri
Produced by: Mitra Chitra
Music: PraveenKiran
Photography: S Ramachandra
Story: J M Prahlad
Screen Play: P Sheshadri and J M Prahlad

Verdict: An excellent movie which brings out the extent to which corruption and apathy has seeped into the social fabric of the Indian society. Winner of 2005 Indian National Award for "Best Kannada Film" and 2005 Karnataka State Award for "2nd best Kannada Film". This DVD is available in Cupertino Library.

Score: 9 out of 10

Corruption in public life is not a new theme in Indian movies. We have seen many commercially successful as well as critically acclaimed movies before. But Beru by P Sheshadri does a very good job of showing to the audience the entrenchment of corruption and the damage it can cause in the Indian society. We are not talking of corruption in the corridors of power but in everyday lives of the common man.

The story in this movie involves a young and honest government official Raghunandan who takes charge of a Taluk office in a remote village called Karadi Gudda in Karnataka, India. Within a few days he faces his first challenge. A minister's visit is forthcoming and his superiors in the government give him the responsibility of making lodging arrangements for the minister in the government Inspection Bungalow (IB). As it turns out, his own subordinates have used the IB as an excuse to misappropriate funds. At the center of this misuse of funds is the head clerk Venkateshiah played by Dattattreya. Venkateshayya is a regular family man but allows himself to misuse the government funds because he thinks his financial problems are a valid excuse. A central theme that runs in the film is that the house of a poor man is about to be destroyed by the creeping root of a huge tree. He needs government permission to cut the tree and save his house. But the government officials are so corrupt that they barely look at his plight. The director uses the metaphor of the house to show the possible destruction of the Indian society by the deep rooted corruption.

The movie is really beautiful in the sense it has characters which are quite complex and human. The best effect the film has is that it puts us inside the minds of the characters and challenges us to think what we would have done if we too were faced with similarly difficult situations as the characters. Sheshadri the director ensures that movie stays tight and focused without any slack in the pace of the story.

Music by Praveen-Kiran provide a good backdrop with folk tunes. One minor thing I found odd was that the theme music and during some situations (like meeting the Meti) the back ground music try to set a mysterious mood which is not the intention of the movie.

The actors have given superb performances. HG Dattatreya as the corrupt head clerk Venkateshiah simply lives the role. Suchendraprasad as the official Raghunandan is a great study in character. It is very rare to see an Indian movie in which the characters lead the story's movement and display interesting behavioral changes. But this movie is an exception. His role develops so well that we get the satisfaction of seeing and understanding a person up close. Venkat Rao as Goravayya and baby Sowmya as the little girl shine in their roles. Neetha as the wife of Raghunandan's turns in a beautiful performance. All others provide excellent support.