Fortuner
Kannada (U/A)
Director: Manjunath J Anivaarya
Cast: Diganth Manchale, Sonu Gowda, Natana Rajesh, Swati Sharma, Ram Ratan
Stars: 2 (on 5 stars)
Fortuner has an interesting core. The film deals with marital troubles and gender roles. But director Manjunath J Anivaarya only scratches the surface, reducing this Diganth Manchale-Sonu Gowda starrer to a damp squib.
Anusha (Sonu Gowda) is an independent and ambitious woman. Partha (Diganth), son of an MLA, is an aimless, spoilt brat. He tricks Anusha into marrying him but his world of lies comes crashing down very soon. A dejected Anusha shames him.
There is a parallel track. Swamy (Ram Ratan) hates his wife Shruthi (Swati Sharma), an uneducated and innocent village belle. The two families, coincidentally, are neighbours. Partha and Shruthi decide to start a venture to prove their worth to their respective spouses. Thus begins the problem.
The confusing nature of the characters is a reflection of the shoddy writing. Anusha, the so-called independent and empowered woman, decides to stay in the relationship despite being fooled into it. Later, when her husband's entrepreneurial idea takes off, instead of supporting him, Anusha doubts him of having an affair.
The poor filmmaking makes it hard for you to care for the story. Partha and Shruthi's instant rise to fame through their food cart business comes across as silly. Director Manjunath does not show the sweat, blood and sleepless nights that go into a new project. Despite their emotional outbursts towards the end, we don't feel for the couples because the romance, even early on, lacks depth.
The performance of the lead cast, to some extent, keeps you invested in Fortuner. But after a point, even that can't save the film. The abrupt ending only adds to the film's woes.
All other departments fail to fire, too. The dialogues lack freshness and the music, from the talented Poornachandra Tejaswi, is surprisingly uninspiring.
A greater focus on the script and with a more mature and subtler treatment of its themes could have made Fortuner a well-rounded film.