Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (2016)

Also known as Wheatish Complexion, Average Build (2016)

Language: Kannada

Director: Hemanth M. Rao

Writers: Hemanth Kumar Lakshmaiah (additional dialogues), Hemanth M. Rao

Cast: Anant Nag, Rakshit Shetty, Sruthi Hariharan, Achyuth Kumar, Vasishta N. Simha.

Genre: Drama | Thriller

IMDb: Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (2016)

Streaming on: Disney+Hotstar.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Ferris Bueller in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986).

After falling in love with foreign films watching Oldboy and going deep on that trail, it was time to visit underrated gems of India. I started hearing about regional gems like Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu and Sairat 5-6 years back. Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu was even released in my place, Kochi at Cinepolis Kochi. I was lucky enough to watch Sairat at the theatres. Boy, that experience was spectacular. The movie was simply joyful and emotion-filled,I watched the 3-hour long Marathi film film with 20-30 strangers at PVR Cinemas Kochi. From there on there was no going back, I had to watch regional gems like this once in a while to get my fix. Sadly I had missed the theatrical release of Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (2015). 

But after I finally managed to watch it (my first Kannada film), I was really content and happy even after the huge hype I had built up reading the reviews. I also successfully managed to catch a good glimpse of a Kannada family, the culture and their values. Even though the languages in all states of India may be different, the middle class family virtues, and culture is very similar across the nation. The movie is a tale of two halves, the 1st half can be quite slow or dull in comparison with the second half where much more events unfold and the movie gets more entertaining. The 1st half rightly takes it’s time to introduce you to the excellent and relatable characters and go deeper into their psyches. The movie takes you through many events thereby asking the viewer many relevant cultural, sociological, medical, and ethical questions. The generation gap, cultural difference and a very realistic, flawed and heartwarming portrayal of father-son relationship (Speaking of which, if you haven’t seen Jersey, this a friendly nudge for the same) is also portrayed very beautifully in this movie. Anant Nag excels in this movie as the father and the rest of the cast also aren’t by any means far behind. Without delving much into the plot and spoiling any part of the movie, I wholeheartedly recommend you to watch this movie with your family (if possible).

Verdict: 6/7 Stars.