Dollu Movie Review: Commendable take on a dying art

National award-winning director Sagar Puranik’s Dollu serves as a telling reminder about a dying art. The director gives an insight into the traditional arts and indeed reminds us that the soul of the art will always survive. Weaving a simple yet profound tale, Sagar lends a personality to the exploration of the art even while blending in the struggle and helplessness of the artists.

Cast: Karthik Mahesh, Nidhi Hegde, Babu Hirannaiah, Chandra Mayur

Director: Sagar Puranik

The film is about a team of young boys led by Bhadra (Karthik Mahesh) who earn their living through playing the dollu, and hope for a better future soon. However, reality dawns on them, and they are forced to move away from each other and migrate to cities for employment. But Bhadra is adamant to stay back and take forward the tradition. He goes about finding a solution to keep the art alive, which forms the crux of the story that ends with a rather unconventional but powerful climax.

Puranik won the National award for his non-feature debut, Mahaan Hutatma, and his first full-length feature, Dollu, too won him national recognition. Even with Dollu, he effectively portrays the harsh realities of life, and how the existence of traditional art is hampered by urbanisation. A silver lining about this take is how women are the hope in preserving this art.

Dollu marks Pawan Wadeyar’s first production venture, and a special mention should go to the talented artistes, who perform brilliantly with noteworthy choreography. Nature forms a beautiful backdrop to the story, which is at times slow and predictable.

Though well made and deservedly applaudable, the message intended to be delivered could have been much stronger.