So whats the film about? There have been numerous films based on Alzheimer's but probably this is the first time Alzheimer's has been explored in Kannada cinema. "Alzheimer's" and "Missing" these two terms always go together. Uncountable cases of people who have this disorder missing and the thought of an elder person goes missing is a natural incident. personally I have seen a couple of instances, the pain and the distress the family undergoes in search of the missing person. Hemanth has tapped in this situation as an engaging plot and has showcased it in a contemporary setup fixing the locations in and around Bangalore. He has moved away from the stereotypical film making and has tried to bring in a new sense with the characters that make the film. What we get to watch is series of incidents that bind the characters leading to transformation. Even though the film projects the father son relationship as the main track there is another parallel track with a crime angle. Hemanth has managed to keep these two tracks progressing at a slow pace and when these tracks meet the film takes a turn. Venkoba Rao's character played brilliantly by Ananth Nag is something that we can easily connect to. We have grown up watching such kind of personalities in our families. Some one following a routine of morning walks, laughter club, watching cricket on TV and passing comments on players, usually bad. Isn't this something that happens in our house? Ananth Nag is undoubtedly a fine actor and is a perfect match for this role. The narrative had scope to make more use of him, however he has limited appearance, makes me feel that his role is underwritten. His natural mannerisms, the smile that he flashes brings out the innocence much needed for the character. Bengaluru has many IT professionals who are seen and referred to as stressed bunch. (Not completely true though). The stressful job, the back to back phone calls and internet have taken priority over family life. The elders in the family knowingly or unknowingly are getting neglected. This is quite a happening situation in most of the families here. Siva Rao played by Rakshit Shetty is one such character. Its quite a different forte for him and it is quite commendable of him to accept playing such roles. There are instances where he struggles (the beginning of the film) but as the film progresses his performance gets better. Giving out emotions is a real hard task. He still needs to evolve as an actor. Its good to see him pick character oriented roles than the usual heroism ones and that will surely fetch him accolades.. Shruthi Hariharan is brilliant as Sahana, a doctor / caretaker of Venkoba Rao. She is the perfect cast for the role. After Lucia this probably is the only Kannada film which has used her skills sensibly. I feel sorry as most of the filmmakers fail to realize that. Hope she gets in more opportunities. Vashishta plays Ranganna, the bad guy and has an amazing screen presence. His character has a broader graph. He is rough and tough and that seems to have helped in playing the character in a natural way. Witnessing his performance i wish he will get in more offers. Achyut Kumar plays a minimal role but he manages to grab attention through his comical mannerisms. Technically the film is good in some parts and bad in some. The camera-work is "okayish" kind, the main problem seems to be that of lighting. The framing in most of the parts seems to have been done without giving much thought. There are several instances where jerky camera movements can be noticed. The sound design seems to be effective in most parts of the film however there is this problem of lip sync which is quite evident in the initial scenes. Somehow as the film progresses this problem seems to go. Music by Charan is one unique aspect that truly lifts the film. The "Ayomaya" track is outstanding! Though it is loud in some parts it doesn't harm the experience. The editing has issues but it depends again on how seamlessly the narrative was captured visually. The film at times seemed to lag. Overall its definitely a watchable film. Probably its one of its kind Kannada film. Such kind of films may come in the near future but it depends on how audience accept this one. Having watched the film and knowing our audience i am pretty sure they will like this film. There are several reasons to like this film. Its a nice blend of commercial and sensible narrative. We have been appreciating several new filmmakers and their experiments. This too deserves appreciation. There is lot of honesty that i see in the film. However the film is not short of issues. If seriously thought about there are several holes in the plot. For me the letdown was the emotional part that i expected to see more seems to have gone "missing". The subtle treatment which was much talked about really dint really have that impact on screen. It looked too casual for a film which was supposed to be high on emotions. The father son relationship could have been the track to be concentrated. As the narrative progresses the shift seems to be more on the crime track than the main. GBSM definitely is a welcome change and will get crowd falling for it.
