Chaithra J Achar in ‘Happy Birthday To Me’ | Photo Credit: Jhankar Music/YouTube
if you had seen the trailer Happy birthday to meYou might start the Kannada film knowing the central conflict of the film, waiting for the main twist to unfold. However, director Rakesh Kadri has cleverly not delayed the inevitable; the film immediately gives you a reason to be curious about it.
Happy birthday to me This is a bizarre film about a birthday party gone awry. Puneet (Siddharth Madhyamika) invites his “friend” Aditi (Chaitra J Achar) over to his house to celebrate his birthday. The party never happens as Aditi dies due to mysterious circumstances. Is Puneet able to find a way out of this dangerous situation?
There are very few Kannada movies that depict the funny yet precarious world of ‘stoners’, and that is what makes them even more interesting. Happy birthday to me A unique effort. Kadri has added a crime element to his story by making a dead body the basis of the film’s story – a concept partly inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s story. Rope, As told by the director in his pre-release interviews,
Happy birthday to me This is a film that deliberately does not take itself seriously. Therefore, the conclusion of the film is not as important as what happens between the beginning and the climax. The director overcomes this challenge to some extent and presents a moderately engaging and funny film on the basis of dialogues and acting.
wish me happy birthday (kannada)
Director: Rakesh Qadri
Mould: Chaitra J. Achar, Siddhārtha Madhyamika, Siddu Moolimani, Gopalkrishna Deshpande
Runtime: 112 minutes
Plot: Puneet invites his friend Aditi to his birthday party. Things go wrong when Aditi dies under mysterious circumstances.
The cast has given realistic performances, in sync with the casual tone of the film. Siddu Moolimani as Puneeth’s friend and flatmate Thirumalesh aka Trippy keeps you smiling with his believable portrayal of a psychedelic man. He has carefully avoided sudden changes in emotions and has given a fun performance.
Gopalkrishna Deshpande, who plays the apartment owner, generates plenty of laughter with his hilarious performance as a confused man – who after accidentally taking an illegal street drug turns into the man who fights off the British invasion of Bengaluru by assembling his army at the Silk Board Junction (if you know, you know). His unhinged acting sells this outrageous but funny idea.
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Some of the dialogues are hilarious, like when Tripti, fearing he will be dragged to jail with Puneeth for Chaitra’s death, wonders if jails have western toilets. In another scene, Tripti talks to strangers about petitioning to set up weed clinics in India. “We can go smoke weed in Magadi instead of going to Manali,” he says in one scene.
In the same scene, the three men joke about the possibility of grass growing on the moon. However, they keep talking about it incessantly, to the extent that we don’t find it funny anymore and want the film to move on from this joke. The film has similar long and dull scenes, filled with dialogues that fail to gel well. Not all situations involving visitors to Puneet’s house are interesting, such as the comedy involving a security guard.
the film It has the same characters and the director has given very little information about their background. The film does reveal the reason behind Puneet’s anger but doesn’t delve deep into it to add an extra layer to the story.
Happy birthday to me The pace of the film is inconsistent, and you need to be patient for the great moments in between the monotonous parts. However, despite the flaws, this is yet another indie Kannada film that attempts to break the mold, and full marks to Kadri and his team for daring to experiment; this film is perfect for a lazy Sunday with friends.
Happy Birthday To Me is currently streaming on Airtel Xstream, Hungama Play, Vodafone TV, JustWatch, Watcho and Tata Binge.
