Mahesh Movie Review - Avala Neralu – ಅವಳ ನೆರಳು (1983)
Short-version of my Review
There are many reasons to recommend this film. The three highlights would be: Vajramuni's diamond-like acting, Ambika's sensual expressions, and the suspense/horror elements of the film. Ambarish's character - despite having the most screen time than others - ends up being used just to push the story forward. We experience the movie through him so he becomes like a medium to reveal the plot to us, he doesn't take centre-stage or even dominate the scenes where he's in. Not that I am complaining, he was required that way for this movie to do well and the above three highlights to shine through.
90% of the film focuses on the horror/suspense aspect and doesn't waste time on the romance. In fact the romance is restricted to the song sequences. This turns out well for the film, as the narration is tight and doesn't lose focus.
As a result, after the climax you are left enthralled but not tired or bored.
More Detailed Review Below
Less Horror, more Suspense - but the horror element stands out
This is more of a Suspense/Thriller genre. The horror element shows up for maybe 3-4 scenes, but it then translates into Suspense. So I wouldn't call it a horror film. But the stand-out scenes from the movie tend are actually the horror ones.
My highlight: The scene where Ambika stops Ambarish's car in the rain in the middle of the night. Ambarish (& us) don't know whether she is a ghost or a real person. She acts like an actual ghost but we don't know for sure. Her and expressions after she breaks the car window and sits inside...
Vajramuni - despite his limited screen presence - is the "diamond" of the film
More than the horror scenes, it is Vajramuni's expressions that I remember. He appears for not more than 5 minutes on screen: but he leaves a mark. Those facial expressions, eyes, and evil smile: in some sense they were sometimes scarier than the ghost scenes.
Today, some of those scenes would be considered as a bit extravagant or over-the-top acting, but I feel they do a good job of instilling that fear and awe into the audience.
He truly is a diamond for the Kannada industry.
Other Emotions are not given Preference, which is fine
When Ambarish learns of the death of his lover, there isn't much pain or hurt in his eyes. That too, he learns it just after a song showing their romance.
In the beginning of the film when he visits his sister-in-law to ask about her husband (his elder brother's) death, there is not much sadness or grief in his eyes or body language.
It appears the movie is deliberately skipping those angles to focus on the Suspense/Horror elements. Instead of taking time to show the grief the main character is going through after these deaths, it attempts to focus on the "Why" element of their death. It's as if the movie is saying: Yes, these people die so the main character is obviously going through pain. Everyone knows that, so there's no need to focus on the emotional loss. Let's talk about the suspense of how did they die? Why are we seeing their ghosts?
Somehow, it appears to work well. The Suspense elements are well-showcases, so I was quick to forget about the emotional/tragic events and focus on the suspense.
Ambika as the Ghost, she's a Killer! The True Star of the Movie.
Ambika, the female lead playing Ambarish's love interest and a ghost has perfect expressions. She showcases a range of emotions in this film: 1). love and romance with Ambarish; 2). horror and fear in later scenes with Ambarish as a ghost; 3). sexual tension and 4). fear/helplessness with Vajramuni.
She is perfect in all of these emotions.
In fact, she is the sole actor who gets to showcase a wide variety of emotions as every other character has only a single emotion. Ambarish is almost always in "mystery investigation" mode except for a few romance scenes, Vajramuni is in horror/angry-mode which he emotes well. But in terms of acting range, Ambika has the most diverse scope.
She emotes every scene well. When she encounters Ambarish in the car during a rainy night, she is scary with her eyes.
When she is walking alone in a white sari in the middle of the forest, or blindly staring at Ambarish with saying anything, her expressions leave us confused: Is she real or is she a pigment of his imagination? Why is she smiling like that? When she is being molested upon, she shows not only real fear but also anger and willingness to attack her molester.
I was genuinely attracted to her every time she was on-screen. In fact, I'd say she is the true crowd-puller, and should be the reason you should watch this film.
A Plot Hole I didn't Understand
There is a scene where Ambarish is chasing someone who tried to shoot him. The shooter escapes into Ambarish's house. Ambarish notices a similar looking rifle in his sister-in-law's house, but doesn't seem to question her about it when she denies seeing anyone enter the house before him.
Doesn't it mean she is involved with the shooter? At the end of the movie, she is shown to be innocent when she learns who killed her husband. The movie doesn't reveal who she helped hide that shooter or what she was upto.
Other Minor Observations
Remember the scene where Ambarish was trying to set Ambika's hair on fire to see if she's real. He was also trying to see if she has legs because ghosts don't have legs apparantly.In the post-climax scene where he is setting of with her after defeating the bad guys, he still has a bit of doubt so pulls her dress up slightly and notices her feet. He is then relieved and so was I
The portion where he dresses up as Vajramuni was a smart idea for a screenplay. He uses the mask to appear as Vajramuni to test multiple characters and find out who actually killed him. He disappears away once he realises someone is innocent.
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