Tiger Galli: Just another mass flick

Sathish Ninasam believed that being part of a commercial project would bring him closer to the masses and underwent a makeover for his association with director Ravi Srivatsa, which gave rise to Tiger Galli. Going by the director’s previous films, it was obvious that elements of rowdyism, an overdose of action sequences and bloody murder would make an appearance. And so they do.

Cast: Sathish Ninasam, Roshini Prakash, Bhavana
Director: Ravi Srivatsa

The story is about Durgamama’s (Yamuna) son Vishnu (Sathish Ninasam), who runs a cow milk business, and lives in a lane called Tiger Galli. He also works in a garage. Vishnu takes part in a kabbadi match, when he accidently comes in contact with rowdies, followed by underworld dons who are associated with the chief minister. An untoward incident involving Meera (Roshini Prakash), a strict and young police officer living in the area, causes havoc in the neighbourhood. Life takes a turn for Vishnu, who volunteers with the police to kill the goons. Vishnu, a layman, getting rid of the criminals who have taken over the city, forms part one of the plot. The second half sees Sathish as Shiva, a police officer residing in Delhi, who takes a transfer to the city. He takes charge and makes sure to put an end to the criminal reign. How Vishnu is related to Shiva is revealed during the interval, followed by a major action climax taking place in a court. 

A plot like the one in Tiger Galli has become very rare in Kannada cinema, and the director has fit all social evils in this slightly over two hours long film. He shows a layman getting easy entry into a CM’s house, who is almost at the mercy of dons. This is just one of the loopholes in Ravi Srivatsa’s film. We understand that it might be for entertainment purposes, but common sense has to come in somewhere. Storywise, there's nothing new in how he deals with the underworld. The director has not only glorified anti-social elements, but the script is also filled with so much foul language that it definitely puts the film in a poor light. On the positive side, the director manages to handle the mother-son dynamics well.

Individually, all the actors have potrayed their roles well, with a few exceptions. Sathish’s forte is his dialogue delivery, and in Tiger Galli, he is unstoppable. Bhavana has brought the glam quotient to the film, while Roshni, who debuts with this film, has a good screen presence. Yamuna and Pooja Lokesh, who play the role of a mother and a judge respectively, have delivered theatrical performances. Though villains like Shivamani and Ayyappa Sharma have tried their best to get into the skin of their respective characters, the lack of a strong antagonist for a face-off scene is a major drawback. There's not much to be said for film’s music, and there are a lot of glitches in the cinematography as well.

Tiger Galli is aimed at those who don’t mind seeing bloodshed, harsh dialogues and several action sequences. Sathish took a chance to experiment with this mass entertainer, and now it is up to the people to decide whether they prefer seeing him in these sort of commercial roles.