Monsoon Raaga Movie Review: Intense love notes with a soulful climax

How do you fall in love almost all your life? And how do you sustain such love with all the hurdles? Pushpaka Vimana director Ravindranath's second outing, Monsoon Raaga, tries to throw light on love and weaves together the romantic tales of four couples to give us an interesting and sincere film.

Monsoon Raaga deals with childhood love (Sundara and Suchitra), teenage love (Joseph and Raga Sudha), pure love (Katte and Asma), and a mature love (Raju and Hasini). Each of these love stories are placed in different time periods. Monsoon Raaga is a moving tale that is based in Dakshina Kannada and its rain-soaked atmosphere is accentuated by the battering sea waves.  

Cast: Dhananjay, Rachita Ram, Acyuth Kumar, Suhasini, Yasha Shivakumar, Shivank, Nihal and Sinchana

Director: S Ravindranath

Through the unique way of presenting a love story of four age groups, Monsoon Raaga addresses a few social issues ranging from existing belief systems, religion, faith, and even the hierarchy in government offices. The social issues are interwoven in layers of beautiful storytelling, surprise elements, and a sweet climax, which highlights the acceptance of women's conduct in society, and poses questions about the institution of marriage.

Monsoon Raaga is not a typical hero-heroine film, and everyone has played their characters well. Dhananjay, usually portrayed as a mass hero, has lived up to the role of a mature lover, Katte, and tries to reinvent himself with a different role. Rachita Ram plays her part well, and her role as a sex worker is neatly handled.

Veteran actors Achyuth Kumar and Suhasini play heartwarming roles and express the love that blossoms after 40. Suhasini's character speaks Telugu in the film, which touches upon the language barriers in love. While Yasha Shivakumar is excellent as Raga Sudha, Shivank could have given more life to Joseph. The school love story of Sundara and Suchitra (Nihal and Sinchana) is the cutest episode in the entire movie. Lakshmi, a new talent, is featured in a role that gives a twist to the whole story. Other than that, Shobharaj, Sridhar, Sashidhar, Raghu Gowda, and Bro Gowda smartly handle their characters.

One of the biggest strengths of the film is its soulful music composed by Anoop Seelin, which also helps in a smooth narration. Rain plays an important part of the haunting background score of the film. The locations help to keep the film real, and cinematographer SK Rao has captured the emotions through the various settings. The thought-provoking and heart-to-heart conversations written by Guru Kashyap put a smile on our faces. His untimely demise is truly an irreparable loss to the Kannada film industry.

Ravindranath, who has been inspired by love-based subjects, has paid a lot of attention to the making and brings in his signature style of conversational romance. Monsoon Raaga is a slow-moving film that does create some confusion in the beginning, however, the characters steal the show. In a nutshell, Monsoon Raaga makes for a realistic experience for romantic hearts.