Rangamma

I have been advised by my friends to start a Shakila fan club - not that I like her but because I have now watched so many of her films, I run the very plausible risk of being labeled an expert on her movies.

So what exactly does 'Rangamma' bring to your mind? One oversized woman bossing over the rest of the people around her? Not far from the truth. Rangamma runs the teashop in the village with her henpecked hubby. And there is the inevitable landlord who has his eyes on every girl in the village - especially this one.

Rangamma's younger sister Gowri falls in love with the helper in the teashop, Hari. Rangamma is enraged when she discovers this, and throws Hari out. The two meet every so often and start bawling about the separation. This becomes so frequent that soon the audience starts bawling as soon as these two are about to meet.

The landlord gets spurned by Rangamma and craves revenge. He turns his ire towards Gowri, and tries to rape her. Rangamma saves her and bashes up the landlord and unites the lovers. That's the main tale for you.

Now, for the side stories - the landlord's son James is obsessed with Rangamma too, and since the director just has to make use of her 'talents' somewhere, a fantasy sequence of James' is the only time Shakila gets to display her strong points. After this, James slips into obscurity for about an hour and a half. He resurfaces only to make out again with a cabaret dancer and elope.

James' sister Mercy arrives from a college in the city. She's the poshest thing in the village since electricity and makes news everywhere she goes. Her dad fixes her marriage but she wants a fling with the groom's best friend. This, to the audience's great relief, makes for the best 'scene' in the movie. After this, she is immediately packed off to college. Huh?? Wasn't she supposed to get married?

The hall was jam-packed and I daresay they got the 'desi' titillation they were looking for. Of course, the loudest whistles were for Shakila - I wonder why. One scene of her bathing in the pond vaguely reminded me of a hippopotamus frolicking. Do as you see fit!