I have loved him as an actor. This time around, as he debuted as a director, I loved him more. I am talking about one of my all time favourites – Prakash Rai. A boon to Kannada films, Rai, I guess at one point in time, saw better promising and inviting opportunities in the Telugu and Tamil film industry. I would watch a lot of Telugu films just for him. And, when I heard that he was making a comeback in Kannada, I was more than thrilled.

With Naanu Nanna Kanasu (NNK), Rai proved his worth yet again. Well, the movie portrays the relationship between a father and daughter beautifully. Well crafted scenes, well written dialogues and remarkable performances by each and every character of the film makes it one of my personal favourites.

A lot of people I know have this aversion towards Kannada cinema. I always wonder why and I always fail to reason it out. I think just like any other film industry there is a decent mix of below average, average and above average movies being released in Kannada. It is just encouragement and support that the industry needs at this point to make better films. Kannada has seen the likes of Girish Kasaravalli, BV Karanth and many more. Well, even the mass film directors have given good films in the recent years. When talks of NNK’s release were going on, I remember people saying that the Tamil version, Abhiyum Naanum (which happens to be the original) was any day better. At that very point, I wanted to ask the same people how could they come to such conclusions every before the film is out for review. Well, even before I could ask, I heard someone say, ‘It’s a Kannada film. What can you expect.’ At that point, I thought it was worthless to even involve myself in such talks. I knew the film would justify its own merits.

However, as the release date got closer I started getting more and more apprehensive. I just was hoping that it would live up to my expectations. I had already liked the songs, I had already liked its facebook page, I had already liked its website. Now I was hoping I would like the film as well. I knew what the film was all about as the Tamil one had created news all over. However, I had not watched it in totality. Dad and I went to watch this film the day it released. And, should I say, I was stunned.

Prakash Rai proved me right! I actually was impressed even beyond expectations. The film seemed to have the right combination of songs, dialogues, variety, performances, depiction, cinematography, screenplay and just about everything else. As a gentle, over-caring and over protective father, Rai made me shed a drop of tear several times during the film. It had representation of different regions of Karnataka – Dakshina Karnataka, North and the Coorg region which made it rich in cultural and regional depiction. I found it to be amazing.

I recommended it to a lot of people and everyone who went for it loved it. Well, there was this bunch of people who said that they would not want to watch the Kannada one as they had already seen Tamil. I chose not to argue or persuade them any further. A few months later, I made a friend of mine download Abhiyum Naanum. I finally watched it yesterday. Well, I had no reason to doubt my judgement and preferences. NNK was far better.

Unwanted scenes and songs had been discarded. The music and lyrics in Kannada are a class apart. Every time I hear the title track or the sad version of the same, I always am overwhelmed with joy that each of us got to experience the love of a father. Well, every father is like that with their respective daughters. Some express it, some don’t. And Rai was right – With the birth of every daughter there is a birth of a father as well.

Well, it would be wrong if I do not mention about the other characters of the film. Sitara, Achyutha Kumar, Rajesh, Amoolya, Sihi Kahi Chandru and every one else were good. Prakash’s characted was well supported by Sitara’s performance. In all, the film is amazing. I would recommend everyone to watch it once the DVD is out. I personally will make a few friends of mine watch it for sure. You will simply love it!